Cumberland BC: The Cumberlander Articles Section
Uncategorized · 26th September 2007
Editor
Putian, Cumberland sign sister-city agreement, mayor welcomes ‘friends’.
By Colleen Dane
Record Staff
Sep 26 2007
A giant has befriended Cumberland.
Councillors, media, village residents and economic development parties from the Comox Valley were on hand this week to see a sister-city agreement signed between representatives from Cumberland and those from Putian, a city in the Fujian province of China, with a population of more than three million.
“We are very pleased to be your friends,” said Mayor Fred Bates in Chinese — to the applause and thumbs up of the visiting delegation.
The formal signing ceremony was the culmination of what’s been over a year’s work by Bates, the village, the Comox Strathcona Regional District and the Putian people.
“It should be a continuous and harmonious relationship between each other,” said Lin Guangda, chairman of the standing committee of the People’s Congress of Putian Municipal of Fujian Province.
The sister-city agreement, signed in both languages, is meant to open up cultural and economic ties between the two municipalities. It was an idea that developed when Cumberland council decided they needed to reconnect with the village’s Chinese heritage that stems back from their coal mining days when the Asian community was a significant part of the local workforce.
Carrying on with that idea, Bates asked if the regional district would also be interested in signing an agreement with Putian — and that was also completed at Monday’s signing. The letter of intent will encourage the two parties to look at each other for investment and trade opportunities.
“We very much look forward to a great developing relationship with you that will be a great benefit to both of us,” said Bates, pausing for translator Jenny Leung to explain to the delegation.
Comox Valley economic development officer John Watson said the agreement this week is a strong step for the local area.
“The entire Comox Valley can benefit from the leadership they’ve taken,” he said. “I think that what we as a community can do is support that direction — encourage it.”
He said the encouragement by both federal and provincial governments to look at the Asia-Pacific for investment and trade shows the emphasis that is being put on relationships between the two continents.
“This is a very significant piece of the puzzle,” he said about the local work.
Following the signing, the Putian delegation visited the Cumberland Museum and North Island College, aside from a Comox Valley tour they’d been given Sunday.
By Colleen Dane
Record Staff
Sep 26 2007
A giant has befriended Cumberland.
Councillors, media, village residents and economic development parties from the Comox Valley were on hand this week to see a sister-city agreement signed between representatives from Cumberland and those from Putian, a city in the Fujian province of China, with a population of more than three million.
“We are very pleased to be your friends,” said Mayor Fred Bates in Chinese — to the applause and thumbs up of the visiting delegation.
The formal signing ceremony was the culmination of what’s been over a year’s work by Bates, the village, the Comox Strathcona Regional District and the Putian people.
“It should be a continuous and harmonious relationship between each other,” said Lin Guangda, chairman of the standing committee of the People’s Congress of Putian Municipal of Fujian Province.
The sister-city agreement, signed in both languages, is meant to open up cultural and economic ties between the two municipalities. It was an idea that developed when Cumberland council decided they needed to reconnect with the village’s Chinese heritage that stems back from their coal mining days when the Asian community was a significant part of the local workforce.
Carrying on with that idea, Bates asked if the regional district would also be interested in signing an agreement with Putian — and that was also completed at Monday’s signing. The letter of intent will encourage the two parties to look at each other for investment and trade opportunities.
“We very much look forward to a great developing relationship with you that will be a great benefit to both of us,” said Bates, pausing for translator Jenny Leung to explain to the delegation.
Comox Valley economic development officer John Watson said the agreement this week is a strong step for the local area.
“The entire Comox Valley can benefit from the leadership they’ve taken,” he said. “I think that what we as a community can do is support that direction — encourage it.”
He said the encouragement by both federal and provincial governments to look at the Asia-Pacific for investment and trade shows the emphasis that is being put on relationships between the two continents.
“This is a very significant piece of the puzzle,” he said about the local work.
Following the signing, the Putian delegation visited the Cumberland Museum and North Island College, aside from a Comox Valley tour they’d been given Sunday.
