Photograph by Diana Wu

Cupertino Mayor Sandra James and Vice Mayor Lin of Hsin-Chu City in Taiwan exchange gifts from their respective homes. Here James gives Lin a wooden tray bearing an image of California. The vice mayor was part of a larger Taiwanese delegation that was touring Silicon Valley. They visited Cupertino to learn more about e-government.

Cultural Exchange

City hosts Taiwanese delegation eager to learn e-government

By KEVIN FAYLE

Cupertino hosted another delegation from the East on Dec. 19, as the vice mayor of Hsin-Chu City in Taiwan visited the city as part of his tour of Silicon Valley. Just three weeks ago, Cupertino enjoyed a visit from a delegation from the Wuhan Province of mainland China.

Mayor Sandra James and City Manager Dave Knapp met with the delegation and each gave short speeches describing Cupertino's unique situation as the business hub with a small-town feel, then answered some of the delegation's questions.

The group traveled to the United States to learn more about e-government. Cupertino is a wise choice for such a trip, since the city occupies a spot in the Smithsonian Institute as the first city in America to establish an official city network.

Mayor James described to the group the importance of the entrepreneurial spirit in Cupertino, as well as the need for government responsibility in the areas of education, the environment and social services. James then turned the proceedings over to Knapp when the delegation began asking questions concerning the city's e-government activities.

Knapp explained Cupertino had made extremely rapid advances in the past, and then watched as other cities followed their example and quickly built their own e-government systems that rivaled Cupertino's. Knapp told the delegation that Cupertino will soon take another step forward as the city plans to put all relevant information about weekly city council issues online. He predicted that within five years, most city functions could occur across the Internet. Activities such as applying for permits would no longer require a trip to city hall.

The delegation wished to know how large of a staff the city had to manage e-government issues. Knapp told them that the city only required two full-time staff members for that purpose, but that the entire city staff also works to ensure that the program runs smoothly. The delegation also wanted to know how large of a budget the city needed to maintain its e-government program.

David Fong helped to organize the delegation's trip through Silicon Valley, and arranged for a visit with Fremont Union High School District Superintendent Joe Hamilton. He has assisted the two cities as they maintain their relationship as Friendship Cities, which has included numerous visits between the cities, including a recent visit to Hsin-Chu City by library commissioner Diana Wu. Her trip concluded only the day before the Hsin-Chu delegation arrived in Cupertino; she had gone to Taiwan to exchange art and cultural information with Cupertino's sister library there.

The delegation's journey included a visit to Cisco Systems. Jadis Lee, a member of the Taiwanese group, explained that Hsin-Chu City wishes to learn from organizations such as Cupertino and Cisco, so that they can implement a form of e-government in Taiwan. "We are trying to build a similar city," he says. "We are trying to provide our services online."

Before the group and the city representatives broke for lunch, Mayor James passed out pins, pens and brochures, as well as a wooden tray bearing the image of California that went to the vice mayor of Hsin-Chu. In return, the vice mayor gave James a green porcelain vase, which she placed in the cabinet in her office that bears the gifts given to the city by visiting dignitaries.

Vice mayor of Hsin-Chu City pays a visit to Cupertino as part of his Silicon Valley tour

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