Edinburgh Councillor Cammy Day led a delegation to Taiwan and made Tainan their first stop. The Councillor and Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-che exchanged Letters of Intent (LOI) on March 24. Mayor Huang expressed that he looks forward to more exchanges between the two cities and to further deepening the friendship between Tainan and Edinburgh as well as Scotland.
Huang added that he enjoyed the video conference with the Councillor last August and is delighted to welcome the delegation in person today. He thanked Scotland’s support to Tainan and remarked that this friendship is very precious. The Mayor also mentioned that Doctor James Laidlaw Maxwell and Minister Thomas Barclay, who had contributed greatly to Tainan's medical care, education, and modernization, were both from Scotland.
National Cheng Kung University and the University of Edinburgh have a university-level MOU and the partnership has already yielded fruitful results. In the coming years, Mayor Huang hopes to work with the Councillor and the City of Edinburgh in areas such as culture, technological industries, smart city, and green energy to benefit the citizens of both cities.
Present times may be the tensest period between the free world and authoritarian regimes since the post-Cold War era. As Tainan is the location of TSMC’s advanced process technology as well as 3 nm mass production foundries, the city is a very significant fortress of the free world. Mayor Huang invited international friends who share the values of freedom and democracy to work with Tainan in these related industries and solidify the strength of freedom and democracy.
Councillor Cammy Day expressed that the City of Edinburgh will celebrate its 800th anniversary soon. As Edinburgh is also a city that looks forward to the future, hopefully, both cities can mutually learn and benefit through different interactions. Day also mentioned that he enjoyed the wonderful tour of Taisugar Shalun Smart Green Energy Circular Economy Housing Zone, Tainan Theological College, and Sin-Lau Hospital. He is excited to sample the local delicacies and invites all to visit Edinburgh, the city where Doctor James Laidlaw Maxwell studied.
Mayor Huang Wei-che and Councillor Cammy Day exchanged LOIs during the meeting to demonstrate their sincere intent to deepen collaborations between the two cities. Mayor Huang Wei-che also mentioned that Tainan City Government will send to Edinburgh 100 sets of picture books - Elizabeth Blackburn Christie and Elizabeth Blackburn Christie, which are about the early interactions between the people in Taiwan and the Scots who had traveled to Taiwan. Hopefully, the picture books will introduce Tainan and Taiwan to more children in Edinburgh and help them know more about the historical connections between the two places.