桃園市政府秘書處

The California State Assembly delegation of five are now on visit to Taiwan for seven days from 29th July, choosing Taoyuan as their first stop. In addition to visiting the Operation Control Center of the Taiwan High Speed Rail, Taoyuan Airport MRT, and the Shihmen Reservoir, Speaker Anthony Rendon, head of the delegation, also embarked on a journey down the memory lane when he returned to the Taoyuan City International English Village in Longtan, where he worked from 1998 to 1999. Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan exchanged views with the delegation on issues pertaining to traffic infrastructure and business cooperation with an aim to furthering Taiwan-US cooperation and strengthening bilateral partnerships.

Mayor Cheng and Speaker Rendon of the California State Assembly have formed a deep friendship with each other since July 2017, when Mayor Cheng visited Sacramento, the capital city of the U.S. state of California, during his first visit to the US. Mayor Cheng was given a recognition by Speaker Rendon, marking the first time for a Taiwanese political figure to enter the California State Assembly to receive a recognition.

Mayor Cheng met Speaker Rendon again in Irvine, a sister city of Taoyuan, during his visit to the States in March this year. They exchanged insights on the high speed rail project of California among other issues over meal time and had face-to-face interactions with California’s Senators and Representatives. Mayor Cheng extended his cordial invitation to Speaker Rendon to visit Taiwan’s High Speed Rail system and return to the International English Village in Longtan. Upon arrival in Taiwan, Mayor Cheng sent an invitation letter in his name, to which Speaker Rendon replied in April to thank Mayor Cheng for his invitation and express how much he looked forward to visiting Taiwan again. Under the detailed arrangement of the Taoyuan City Government, Speaker Rendon and his delegation first stopped in Taoyuan to visit critical traffic infrastructure sites such as the Taiwan High Speed Rail and Taoyuan Airport MRT.

Mayor Cheng said in his introduction to the delegation that the city government has focused on the development of “airport economics” since he took office. In particular, the Taoyuan Airport MRT run by the city government plays an important role in linking the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to adjoining areas, thereby making inter-city transportation more convenient. What’s more, the nearest High Speed Rail station is only a 15-minute drive from the airport. It was believed that the delegation would learn a lot during their visit to the two critical traffic junctions in Taoyuan.

Speaker Rendon expressed his keen interest in Taiwan’s planning of traffic locations and its maintenance capabilities, and how important Taiwan has been to him. His constituency—12 miles from the Port of Los Angeles and 10 miles from the Port of Long Beach—is in southern California, where Taiwanese container shipping companies enjoy a significant status. Over breakfast with Mayor Cheng, Speaker Rendon highlighted Taoyuan’s role as a high-tech hub and the deep bonds forged between California and Taoyuan with close commercial ties. The main purpose of the delegation’s visit, said Speaker Rendon, was to deepen the friendship between the two sides

Director-general Tzu-chieh Yen of the Taoyuan City Government Secretariat said that Taoyuan has four sister cities in California—Alameda, Irvine in Orange County, San Bernardino County, and Long Beach. Taoyuan has had close interactions with Long Beach in particular and overall with California in the areas of high-tech and logistics. The visit of Speaker Rendon’s delegation to Taoyuan marked a significant step in bringing the bilateral friendship to a higher level.

The members of the California State Assembly delegation includes Anthony Rendon, Speaker of the California State Assembly; Monique Limón, Assembly member and Chair of the Standing Committee on Banking and Finance; Christy Smith, Assembly member and Chair of the Joint Committee on Emergency Management; Luz Maria Rivas, Assembly member and Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislative Ethics; and Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Assembly member and Chair of the Select Committee on Women’s Reproductive Health.