Tainan City and Łódź City in Poland established a sister city partnership on June 6. The agreement was signed by Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che and Łódź Mayor Hanna Zdanowska. Tainan City Deputy Mayor Chao Ching-hui, Department of Information and International Relations Director-General Su En-en, Economic Development Bureau Director General Chang Ting-yuan as well as Polish Office in Taipei Director Cyryl Jacek Kozaczewski, Ambassador-at-Large and CMF Chairman Richard Soong, and CMF President Andrew Soong were present at the ceremony to witness the event.
Interactions between the two cities began when Chimei Food, a Tainan-based company, set up food production lines with Polish food company Super Drob in Łódź City. This private sector collaboration laid a solid foundation for closer diplomatic relations between the two cities: Mayor Huang visited Łódź City during his trip to Europe last September (2024) and the Deputy Mayor of Łódź City led a delegation to Tainan in February this year to facilitate additional business exchanges.
After thanking the Polish Office in Taipei and CMF for their assistance and support, Mayor Huang expressed that he expects more exchanges in the areas of culture, education, tourism, and commerce between the two sister cities. Łódź has left a beautiful impression on the mayor and he emphasized that both Tainan and Łódź - ancient cities with histories spanning over 400 and 600 years, respectively - share many commonalities that can serve as a foundation for further interactions. Additionally, Mayor Huang announced that Tainan City will name a new road “Łódź Road” in honor of this new sister city friendship.
Łódź City Mayor Hanna Zdanowska agreed that the ties between Łódź City and Tainan were initiated and driven by private enterprises, and the newly signed agreement holds symbolic value. She looks forward to sharing Łódź’s culture with Tainan and broadening cooperations between the two cities from commerce to the areas of culture and education. The younger generation is also encouraged to participate in cross-national exchanges to explore further opportunities for collaboration.
Polish Office in Taipei Director Cyryl Jacek Kozaczewski expressed his honor at witnessing the successful establishment of a sister city relationship between the iconic cities of Łódź and Tainan during the visit of the Łódź City delegation. He extended his gratitude to all sectors whose support and efforts have helped further strengthen the friendship between Taiwan and Poland.
Ambassador-at-Large Richard Soong said that the people of both Taiwan and Poland are exceptionally friendly and sincere, and he is happy to see more interactions between them, which will further strengthen the ties between the two nations.
Łódź, the third-largest city in Poland, serves as a major European logistics hub due to its central location - less than a two-hour drive from the capital, Warsaw. Its strategic position and strong public security make it an attractive destination for business investors. The visiting delegation from Łódź includes representatives from the city’s International Partnerships Department, city council members, and the President of Lodz University of Technology. During their visit, the delegation toured the Chimei Happiness Factory and the Chimei Museum and also initiated academic exchanges and partnerships with National Cheng Kung University.