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Japanese city council speaker leads delegation on visit, Yang: “We’re strengthening communication”
  • PostDate:2023-02-09
  • Modified Date:2023-03-01

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Ozawa Miji, the speaker of the Buzen City Council in Fukuoka, Japan, led a delegation to visit Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke today (Feb. 9), discussing topics including industry, education and SDGs. Buzen City had signed an agreement for educational exchanges between Taiwan and Japan in 2021 with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office’s Fukuoka Branch, also signing an MOU on establishing education institutes overseas with the Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Technology, bolstering the exchanges on vocational education between the two sides. This visit is conducted with hopes of joining Hsinchu County’s talent cultivation and Japan’s call for talent.

 

This is the first exchange between Hsinchu County and Buzen City, with attendees including Chen Chung-cheng, the former consul at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office’s Fukuoka Branch; Minghsin University of Science and Technology Chancellor Liu Guo-wei, and Vice Chancellor Liao Hsin-te. The county government prepared a Japanese version of the county’s introduction video, presenting the many diverse sides of Hsinchu County and the excitement found in its tourism activities, giving the guests a quick introduction into the county’s cultural landscape and recent developments.

 

Hsinchu County is home to the Hsinchu Science Park, the Hsinchu Industrial Park, Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park, Taiyuen Hi-Tech Industrial Park, and so on. The county is not only a stronghold for Taiwan’s semiconductor, ICT and biomedical industries, but is also where much of the world’s semiconductor chips are manufactured, said Yang, who hoped to begin various types of exchanges and collaborations with Buzen City in the future. During this visit, the two sides will focus on industry-government-university collaboration between Hsinchu County’s technology industry and Japan’s cultivation of talent in high tech, as well as emphasis on SDGs, among other topics.

 

After Buzen City and the Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Technology signed the MOU, there has been much correspondence and many exchanges between the two sides; Ozawa visited Taiwan last December with Buzen Mayor Motohide Goto and toured Ming-hsin University, taking note of how Taiwan’s semiconductor industry boasts of a production strength that currently reigns as best in the world, said Ozawa. Despite the trip being short, he appreciated Taiwan’s friendliness and affection, and is hoping that Mayor Yang and Taiwan’s businesses frequent Buzen City, bringing exchanges outside the realm of academia to business and cultural exchange as a means of deepening the relationship between the two cities.

 

Buzen City Council’s Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yachiyo, asked about how Hsinchu County, with its hilly landscape, planned the development and management of mountainous areas. In Hsinchu County, there are beautiful mountain scenery sights like Smangus and the Cinsbu giant trees, and hot springs and agricultural products including juicy peaches and delectable persimmons. The county government ensures that transportation is well-planned and promotes the attractions, making the hilly sights a top contender when tourists wish to trek into the woods.

 

Yang hospitably presented Ozawa with a gold-edged plate, intricately painted with imagery of the Taiwan barbet, the county bird; camellias, the county flower, and the Asian bayberry, the county tree. On the plate, one barbet has its head raised and the other lowered, the former expressing the county’s 30-year plan for prosperity, and the latter, the spirit of self-reflection with its bowed head. Yang also gifted the guests with Hsinchu-grown Oriental Beauty oolong tea, inviting them to sample local flavors and support the county’s outstanding agricultural specialties.

 

The county government’s Department of Public Information pointed out that Buzen City had signed an agreement for educational exchanges between Taiwan and Japan in 2021 with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office’s Fukuoka Branch, also signing an MOU on establishing educational institutes overseas with the Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Technology, bolstering vocational education exchanges between the two sides, and promoting international education by providing resources, encouraging educational exchanges such as visits, research, and learning.