City Council

E. CONSIDERATION OF FRIENDSHIP CITY PARTNERSHIP WITH BANQIAO\nDISTRICT IN NEW TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN (REPUBLIC OF CHINA) AS WELL AS\nCONSIDERATION OF A CULTURAL EXCHANGE TRIP TO TAIWAN BY SAN\nGABRIEL REPRESENTATIVES\nThe City has been approached by the Hakka Federation of USA with a request\nto establish a Friendship City Relationship between the City of San Gabriel and\nthe Banqiao District of New Taipei City, Taiwan (Republic of China). Additionally,\nMayor Wu has tentatively planned a trip to Taiwan for cultural exchange, disaster\npreparedness, tourism promotion, economic development, and smart city\nresearch with several cities and regions in Taiwan. There is no fiscal impact\nassociated with entering into a Friendship City Agreement with the Banqiao\nDistrict of New Taipei City. The fiscal impact of a cultural exchange trip to Taiwan\nis dependent on which option the City Council selects. The impact could range\nfrom $0 to $35,000 or more depending upon how many trips are paid for by the\nCity.\nCalifornia Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as\ndefined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.\nRecommended Action:\nStaff recommends that the City Council:\n1. Approve entering into a Friendship City partnership with the Banqiao\nDistrict of New Taipei City, Taiwan (Republic of China).\n2. Authorize the Mayor to execute a Friendship City Agreement on behalf\nof San Gabriel.\n3. Provide direction on funding a trip to Taiwan.