2 Chinese cities keen on ‘sisterhood’ ties with city
Two metropolitan areas in China are interested to sign sisterhood agreements with Iloilo City after Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog met its officials during his recent trip to an East Asian economic forum.
Mabilog said the cities of Hsinchu and Yulin expressed their intention to have a “twinning” relationship with Iloilo.
Being “sister cities” entail a cooperative agreement between two geographically and politically distinct cities to promote cultural and economic link.
Hsinchu is an urban area in northern Taiwan, popularly called “The Windy City” because of its breezy climate.
It is the base for high technology industry thereby getting the highest income level in Taiwan.
Yulin, meanwhile, is a city on the far north Shaanxi province. It is famous for its classical architecture dating back to the Ming Dynasty.
Coal mining is the dominant source of income of the city.
“This would mean big opportunities for us, especially since there are a lot of best practices we could apply here,” Mabilog said.
Yulin officials also asked him to attend their small and medium enterprise fair in October.
The mayor was recently invited to speak in a four-day economic conference in Behai, China, along with some 100 other mayors.
Mabilog and the mayor of Incheon, Korea were the only chief executives outside of China who delivered presentation. He highlighted the major festivals of Iloilo City, including the Dinagyang, Paraw Regatta, and Chinese New Year.
