The Editor,
I understand that it is very difficult to convince the public that the city's visit to Xiamen is worthwhile, given that the benefits of such a trip are not immediate, tangible and sometimes hard to measure.
However, I can honestly say that this is not a vacation trip.
The purpose of this visit is to consolidate and formalize the city's relationship with Xiamen. The city has taken almost 10 years to build this relationship. Xiamen is not an ordinary Chinese city.
It is one of the major special economic zones in China and has a very strong economy based on international business and new technology.
It will be beneficial to Richmond to have strong ties with this city and good opportunities will be created for us in many fields. That is why we will also have representatives (who are paying for the trip through their own organizations) from the Richmond Board of Education, Richmond Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Richmond, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Trinity Western University joining the city's delegation.
I envision that businesses in Richmond will find new markets and investors, the tourism industry will serve many more new customers, the number of international students in our high schools and universities will keep growing and our arts and cultural groups will find new opportunities for overseas performances.
Two years ago, the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra visited and performed in Richmond. Perhaps, it will be the turn for our artists to perform in Xiamen next time. Everybody in Richmond will benefit directly or indirectly.
Richmond is truly the gateway of Canada, but has been slow to take advantage of this. Richmond should emerge from the old mindset of being Vancouver's backyard and reposition itself as a centre for international trade and business, tourism and technological and ecological innovation.
We can show the world, and the rest of Canada, what we can accomplish as a vibrant city. But, we can do that only by strengthening our ties with cities like Xiamen. It is perhaps interesting to note that the City of Burnaby has 10 Sister and Friendship Cities in Quebec, the U.S., Britain, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. Richmond has only three Sister Cities (Xiamen included) and one Friendship City.
I thank the authors of the letters sent to me or published in the newspapers about the city's trip. They have sent me a strong reminder that I must always remember whom I am serving.
Chak Au Richmond Councillor
