The Chinese American Elected Officials Association (CEO) delegation, headed by its President Stan Liu, paid a visit to Tainan City Hall on Mar. 13. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che and Department of Information and International Relations Director-General Su En-en welcomed the 19-member delegation, which comprised elected or public leaders from Los Angeles County, California. The two parties exchanged city governance experiences and set a solid foundation for future city collaborations between Taiwan and the United States.
Mayor Huang Wei-che expressed his condolences about the LA wildfires that occurred earlier this year and remarked that Tainan is willing to assist in the rebuilding process as the city has extensive experience in disaster prevention and recovery. Tainan was hit by an earthquake at the beginning of the year which damaged over two thousand homes, said the Mayor, and the afflicted areas are actively working on reconstruction projects. He also recommended a visit to the city’s Fire Department for more information.
In addition to acknowledging that the delegation members are all important public servants in the US, Mayor Huang mentioned that the Taiwanese immigrant community in California and Los Angeles is very active. He hopes the delegation can facilitate more interactions with Tainan in the areas of education and culture and looks forward to increasing collaborations between the two areas with more actual visits.
After twenty years, the Association’s delegation has finally made it back to Taiwan, said Stan Liu, CEO President and Council Member of Diamond Bar City, California. Liu was excited about this trip as he had already heard a lot about Tainan’s rich culture and food while he was in the US. He added that Peggy Huang, a Council Member for the City of Yorba Linda, is originally from Tainan and this visit is very meaningful to her.
Former Mayor of the City of Arcadia Sho Tay said that he feels a strong connection to Tainan because many of his family members reside here. He noted that Tainan has changed drastically over the past few decades, particularly in the area of technological advancement and now the impressive city is completely different. Tay voiced his admiration for Tainan’s vision for urban development and said that upon his return to the States, he will apply what he had learned on this trip to local city management and governance.
Established in 1997, the Chinese-American Elected Officials Association (CEO) is a non-profit organization that consists of current and former Chinese-American elected or public officials. The majority of this Tainan delegation comes from the political, academic, and water resource sectors in Los Angeles County or neighboring cities and includes Mayors, Deputy Mayors, City Council Members, School District Education Committee Members, and Water District Chairpersons. During their stay in Tainan, the delegation also visited the Fire Department, the Bureau of Education, and the Tainan City Council.