A delegation from Westmont, Illinois in the USA visited its sister city Hsinchu County on March 19. The delegation met with County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke to review their achievements over the nearly eight years since sister city relations were established, and to look ahead to future cooperation directions. During their three-day visit, the delegation met with the Hsinchu County Government, Hsinchu County Council, and Hsinchu County Police Bureau. They also visited Westmont Middle School’s sister schools, Sheng-li Junior High School and Liujia Senior High School, and joined a “Talk a Walk in Hsinchu” tour in Emei and Beipu.
The Westmont delegation was led by Westmont Chief Public Safety Officer, Assistant Manager, and Manager-Elect Jim Gunther. Delegation members included Economic Development Director Larry Forssberg and Sister City Ambassador Angela Yang. During the meeting at the County Government, outgoing Mayor Ron Gunter, who will step down in June this year (2025), and Mayor-Elect Steve Nero also participated in the talks via video conference. Manager-Elect Gunther presented the key to the Village of Westmont on behalf of Mayor Gunter.
Magistrate Yang expressed that Hsinchu County and the Village of Westmont (which is located near Chicago) have realized many meaningful exchanges. Over the past 8 years, they have signed 2 memoranda of understanding, 1 letter of intent, and 2 sister school memoranda, all with remarkable results. Magistrate Yang thanked Mayor Gunter for his close cooperation with Hsinchu County, which has fostered a lasting friendship between the two places. Via video conference, Mayor-Elect Nero also showed his support for the friendship between the two sides, and demonstrated his sincerity in continuing to deepen exchanges.
Manager-Elect Gunther, who has a police background, specifically led the delegation to visit the Hsinchu County Police Bureau, where they were received by Hsinchu County Police Bureau Commissioner Hsuan Chieh-Tzu and the police bureau team. During the meeting, both sides exchanged information on public safety operations in their respective locations, and engaged in in-depth discussions on bilateral police cooperation, fraud prevention, and smart policing. Commissioner Hsuan emphasized that with the Police Bureau long experience in fighting crime and safeguarding public safety, they welcome exchanges of experience with international cities to face security challenges together. Finally, both sides exchanged police badges as a token of friendship and intent to cooperate, and expressed anticipation toward ongoing, deepened police exchanges in the future.
Sheng-li Junior High School Principal Wang Shu-lan and Liujia Senior High School Principal Chiang Yueh-mei noted that students from both their schools had conducted an exchange student program with Westmont Middle School in November 2024. This effectively enhanced students’ abilities in international language and cultural exploration, while also establishing valuable international friendships. To welcome the Westmont delegation, and to help the visitors understand Hsinchu County’s educational development and student learning outcomes, both Hsinchu schools specially planned a series of exchange activities. The principals stated that they look forward to developing more diverse cooperation methods with Westmont schools in the future, and thus creating richer international learning opportunities for students.
In addition, the Westmont sister city delegation also participated in the “Talk a Walk in Hsinchu” tour route through Emei and Beipu. There, they visited Emei Township’s Fuxing Old Tea Factory and Emei Lake, tasted special tea-baked eggs, and traveled to Beipu Old Street to enjoy authentic Hakka cuisine. They also made leicha (ground tea) by hand. Their experience of the unique food culture of the Hakka people left a deep impression of Hsinchu County’s tea industry development and its local features.