Mayor George Chen of Torrance City, California, accompanied by Overseas Community Affairs Council Adviser Yeh Min-fen and Associate Professor Chiu Fu-yuan from National Tsing Hua University, visited Tainan City Hall on Nov. 5. The group was welcomed by Mayor Huang Wei-che, Department of Information and International Relations Director-General Su En-en, Bureau of Education Director-General Cheng Hsin-hui, and Bureau of Sports Director-General Chen Liang-chien. Besides extending an invitation to take part in the Torrance Friendship Games, Mayor Chen also exchanged city governance experiences with the Tainan team.
Welcoming Mayor Chen back to Tainan, Mayor Huang highlighted the city’s strong passion for baseball. He noted that the city had just hosted the biannual WBSC U12 Championship this July, as well as the Giants Cup International Little League Championship last month (Oct. 2025). Huang also mentioned that Torrance is close to Los Angeles, home of the world-renowned Los Angeles Dodgers. The Friendship Games in Torrance will give the young Tainan players an opportunity to broaden their horizons and interact with local teams.
Huang continued to say that Tainan is proud of its friendship city relationship with Torrance City and Tainan hopes to learn from Torrance’s experience. In the area of city governance, Tainan is equally committed to maintaining the cleanliness and safety of the city. Currently, Tainan has introduced new technology to streamline administrative processes and improve efficiency for its citizens.
Since his wife is originally from Taiwan, Mayor George Chen expressed that he feels very much at home every time he comes to Tainan. He recalled attending the Tainan 400 events and the opening of the Taiwan Lantern Festival last February with his city administration delegation. The mayor said he has always admired Tainan’s efficiency and hopes to further strengthen the friendship between the two cities. Torrance City is a very safe city and looks forward to welcoming Tainan’s little league teams to the Torrance Friendship Games, where young players will be able to practice and compete with local youth teams.
Mayor Chen also mentioned that Los Angeles will host the Olympic Games in 2028, and since the summer of 2024, the city has been holding International Little League Baseball Friendship Games as a warm-up for the Olympics. Baseball teams from Japan, Korea, and other US cities have also been invited to Torrance City for training and friendly matches. Torrance City has friendly city relationships with Oshu City and Bizen City in Japan - the hometowns of Los Angeles Dodgers players Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto Yoshinobu, respectively. This past August, the city hosted youth baseball players and their coaches from Oshu City for a friendship game. Among the coaching staff was Toru Ohtani, father of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani.
The City of Torrance and Tainan City became friendship cities on March 13, 2023. Located in the southwest region of Los Angeles County, Torrance is a 30-minute drive from Los Angeles International Airport and roughly one hour from Dodger Stadium. The city serves as a major hub for the U.S. automotive and aerospace industries, with facilities operated by major manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda. It is also home to vibrant Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean immigrant communities.