Mayor of Taipei Lung-Bin Hau received the heads of other cities as they arrived to attend the fifth UCLG ASPAC Congress on the morning of 4 September. The heads included Norman Noel Quijano, Mayor of San Salvador, Mike Robbins, Provost of Stirling and Yasutomo Suzuki, Mayor of Hamamatsu. Mayor Hau and the other mayors exchanged ideas on city governance. During the meeting, there was a consensus on the importance of city diplomacy and the hope for deepening bilateral ties that would be mutually beneficial.

During his meeting with Mayor Quijano, Mayor Hau pointed out that Taipei and San Salvador have maintained close and cordial relations over the years. Visiting the Republic of China for the fourth time, Mayor Quijano extended a cordial invitation to Mayor Hau to visit San Salvador and the neighbouring Guatemala and Honduras in order to further exchanges between the two sides’ cities and countries. Mayor Hau presented Mayor Quijano with a souvenir in the form of Taipei 101, while Mayor Quijano responded with a handicraft made in San Salvador, in appreciation for Mayor Hau’s gesture of goodwill.

While speaking to Mike Robbins, Provost of Stirling, Mayor Hau mentioned that most houses in Taipei have undergone quite a number of earthquakes as Taiwan is prone to earthquakes; as a result, both central and local governments have established an emergency disaster response system. Mayor Hau also said that Taipei is a very friendly city, with warm-hearted people, many of whom are able to communicate in English. In response, Provost Mike Robbins pointed out that he had found that many foreigners live in Taipei.

Mayor Hau also mentioned the 24-hour 1999 Citizen Hotline (available in Mandarin, English and Japanese) which offers round-the-clock help if there is no one else to turn to. If foreign visitors cannot communicate with taxi drivers, the 1999 hotline staff can even serve as interpreters and help guide the taxi to its destination. Mr Robbins was astonished to hear about the service and insisted on dialling 1999 straightaway to try it out.

During his meeting with Mayor Suzuki, Mayor Hau pointed to Taipei and Hamamatsu’s frequent exchanges in recent years and our launch of a tourism cooperation partnership deal. Both cities have held major international events—e.g. the International Mosaiculture 2009 in Hamamatsu and the 2010 International Flora Expo in Taipei. It was in part thanks to what was learned from the Hamamatsu International Mosaiculture that Taipei was able to make the 2010 International Flora Expo a great success.

Mayor Hau said that it is only through exchange and cooperation that people in different cities can learn more about each other and industries forge closer, mutually beneficial ties. Mayor Suzuki said that Hamamatsu is now encouraging cooperation between government, industry and academia, with industries in Hamamatsu now working with administrative organs and tertiary institutions to explore business opportunities. Mayor Suzuki said he looked forward to more exchanges and a mutually beneficial relationship with Taipei.