Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan had another online talk with Chairman Curt Hagman and Supervisor Dawn Rowe of San Bernardino County (SBC), an airport city in California, the United States, on December 10, after a video conference with Guam under the series of “COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention—Talks Between Global City Leaders” held by the Secretariat of Taoyuan City. The online talk saw the two sides exchange opinions on pandemic control, economic relief, and future collaborations. Leaders of both sides also hope to see more substantial bilateral exchanges once the border control bans are lifted after the pandemic abates.
At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, Mayor Cheng immediately wrote a letter to SBC and provided immediate assistance when the pandemic’s surge was taking a toll on California by donating epidemic prevention supplies to the county. “The county government monitors the pandemic closely by tracing and investigating into the travel history and contact history of confirmed COVID-19 cases. The county government also provides weekly updates of the pandemic on its official website, various news outlets, and social media to ensure that citizens can get the latest and correct information while curbing the spread of disinformation.” said Chairman Hagman.
Mayor Cheng also shared with SBC how Taiwan conducts accurate pandemic control with the use of technologies. “As the gateway city of Taiwan, Taoyuan has put in place three defense lines against the pandemic at the border, hospitals, and communities within the city. With its efforts to trace the TOCC (Travel, Occupation, Contact, and Cluster) history of confirmed COVID-19 cases, the city has been able to put in place accurate pandemic control, and hence avoiding the need for a lockdown or general testing for all citizens. In addition, the Taoyuan City Government has taken preemptive measures by conducting epidemic prevention drills at local communities under simulated scenarios of suspected local transmission. The drills included environmental sanitation, self-assessment of health status by visitors, treatment through telemedicine, treatment and evacuation services, and care programs for individuals in home quarantine or isolation,” said Mayor Cheng. “In addition, Taoyuan City also complies with the Central Epidemic Command Center’s Autumn-Winter Epidemic Prevention Program launched in December by enhancing border quarantine control and strengthening community prevention and medical response measures.”
“Taoyuan has been the backbone of the country’s efforts against the pandemic. With the city government’s coordination, the enhanced capacity of production lines of masks, protective clothings, meltblown fabrics, testing equipment, biopharmaceuticals in the city has provided enough supplies to meet the country’s demand. Taoyuan has, therefore, been able to donate extra epidemic prevention supplies such as masks, protective clothings, gloves, and goggles manufactured in the city to help SBC weather the pandemic crisis.” said Mayor Cheng.
“The city’s international airport and proximity to the Port of Taipei have helped boost the development of warehousing and logistics industries in the city. The city’s more than 1,800 logistics operators have not only created tremendous job opportunities and economic value but also fostered local logistics management talents,” said Mayor Cheng. “As the SBC government is also dedicated to the development of a logistics hub, the similarities shared between Taoyuan City and SBC in developing an airport city can help spur more bilateral discussion and exchange of governance experiences and deepen the partnership between Taiwan and the US.”
“The county is facing the second wave of the pandemic with a surge of confirmed cases. The county government has rolled out a stimulus package of $30 million for small businesses, which provides each eligible business with a relief fund of $5,000. In addition, the SBC government also provided operational guidelines for businesses and companies in the county to ensure that they can operate their business in safety.” said Supervisor Rowe.
“Taiwan’s two-phase stimulus package of more than NT$1.05 trillion is designed to help big corporations, SMEs, and disadvantaged groups to steer through the crisis. The government also issued Triple Stimulus Vouchers worth of NT$3,000 to each Taiwanese citizen,” said Mayor Cheng. “As the government has brought the coronavirus pandemic under proper control and encouraged overseas Taiwanese businesses to return to Taiwan for investment, Taoyuan has become the largest beneficiary. The returning investment and the number of jobs created by the returning businesses in Taoyuan are both the highest in Taiwan, accounting for 21% and 23% of the country’s total, respectively.”
The collaboration among Taoyuan City, San Bernardino County, Taoyuan International Airport, and Ontario International Airport had made possible the direct flights between Taoyuan International Airport and Ontario International Airport. However, flights are currently suspended due to the global pandemic.
“In addition to the government’s immediate relief loans and subsidies for epidemic prevention supplies to businesses, China Airlines has encouraged its staff to take leaves, adjusted its workforce to cut costs, and relied on its fleet of freighters to generate more streams of revenue for the company.” said Hsieh Shih-chien, Chairman of China Airlines.
“The curve of the global pandemic will flatten as soon as possible so that Asian Americans will be able to come back and visit their hometowns in Asia. I also look forward to the resumption of the direct flights that will carry passengers back and forth between Taoyuan and Ontario.” said Chairman Hsieh.
Mayor Cheng expressed his excitement at the prospect of exchanges with SBC in the four areas of smart city, airport operation, industrial collaboration, and tourism. “During the pandemic, a mask manufacturer in Taoyuan set up a plant in SBC. I hope to see more manufacturers of epidemic prevention supplies from Taoyuan set up their production lines in SBC.” said Mayor Cheng. “I extend my appreciation to Mayor Cheng’s assistance to introduce these manufacturers to SBC. After the very first video conference between the two sides, I am hopeful for more discussions on tourism and economy to take place and more progress for the bilateral exchanges and collaboration to be made in 2021.” said Chairman Hagman.
At the end of the video conference, Mayor Cheng wrote his blessing message, “Taoyuan Can Help” on a message board to SBC, while Chairman Hagman and Supervisor Rowe wrote back “Taiwan Can Help. SBC stands With You.” To express his wish for the world to be able to fly again soon after the pandemic, Chairman Hsieh also wrote down, “We fly. We fight. We will all be fine.”
“SBC is the first city to establish the sister-city tie with Taoyuan after Mayor Cheng took office. Both Taoyuan and SBC are major logistics hubs and home to an international airport. After the launch of direct flights between the two airports, the two sides have maintained close cooperation and exchanges. Upon receiving proposals to invest overseas by local manufacturers of masks, the city government has been mapping opportunities for them to invest and set up their production lines of meltblown non-woven fabrics in SBC,” said Yen Tzu-chieh, Director-general of the Secretariat. “The city government hopes to be able to make its contribution to pandemic control for cities across the globe and the development of substantive collaboration between Taiwan and the US.”