TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) visited Hirado, Japan, to promote the city’s agricultural produce and cultivate cultural ties between the two cities, CNA reported Monday.
Huang was invited to attend an event in Hirado, where a booth showcased Tainan’s farm products. Businesses from Tainan introduced tomatoes, pomelos, buckwheat, edamame, lotus roots, sesame, and sake to Japanese visitors.
Tainan’s mayor said the friendship between the city and Hirado began with the shared heritage of Koxinga (鄭成功), a 17th-century Ming loyalist born in Hirado who expelled the Dutch from Taiwan and made Tainan his base. The two cities officially formed a sister-city relationship last year.
Huang thanked Hirado Mayor Naruhiko Kuroda for visiting Tainan several times and expressed hope for deeper cooperation in culture and education.
According to the Tainan City Government, the two cities have maintained close ties for years. Each April, Hirado sends a delegation to Tainan for a ceremony honoring Koxinga, while Tainan sends people to Hirado every July for a similar purpose.
AloJapan.com