Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City Council conducted successfully city-to-city exchange with the City of Edinburgh Council, Scotland.
In order to strengthen partnership between Kaohsiung City of Taiwan and Edinburgh City of Scotland, the Speaker of Kaohsiung City Council(KCC), Ms. Yu-Cheng KANG, led a cross-party delegation of 26 city councillors of KCC, including President and Vice-President of the Citizen Diplomacy Group of KCC, Ms. Yung-Yu TANG and Ms.Chiao-Yin PAI, visited the City of Edinburgh Council, located at Royal Mile, on 15th August 2025. The KCC delegation was warmly welcomed by Cllr. Cammy Day, Cllr. James Dalgleish(City Bailie), members of the City of Edinburgh Council and Festivals Edinburgh. They enjoyed a successful discussion on various issues such as: urban governance, net-zero, and tourism industry, etc.. Speaker KANG requested Cllr. Cammy Day to convey her best wish to Cllr. Jane Meagher, leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, and warmly invited them to visit Kaohsiung.
Speaker KANG in her opening remarks emphasized her passion to visit Edinburgh during the International Festival and Fringe, and was deeply impressed by the active and lively performances of various street artists, especially the immense tourists from all over the world. Speaker KANG not only enjoyed the atmosphere of Edinburgh, but also admired the achievement of Edinburgh in net-zero, tourism and cultural promotion, and smart city governance.
Besides, these 26 councillors of Kaohsiung delegation are from different Taiwanese political parties, including Ms. Yung-Yu TANG and Ms. Chiao-Yin PAI, President and Vice-President of the Citizen Diplomacy Group of Kaohsiung City Council(KCC), and most of them paid their first visit to Edinburgh this time because of the International Festival and Fringe. The councillors of KCC raised various issues in this meeting, including funding and implementation of the International Festival and Fringe, the integration of public & private sectors with art organizations, as well as expectations and divergences of local residents.
Finally, Speaker KANG also prepared Taiwan’s traditional gifts such as: fruit jams, handmade bamboo coasters, and pineapple cakes, for members of the City of Edinburgh Council, including Cllr. Jane Meagher, leader of the Council; and Cllr. Cammy Day, former leader of the Council, who visited Taiwan several times to promote actively the partnership between Edinburgh and Kaohsiung. After the meeting, the City of Edinburgh Council kindly arranged a presentation of City Chamber to the Kaohsiung delegation, they were deeply impressed by this historical architecture, especially its tradition, modernity, and energy-friendly.
After leaving the City of Edinburgh Council, Speaker KANG and the Kaohsiung councillors walked easily on the Royal Mile, they were fully immersed into the atmosphere of the Fringe, and started to sing a Taiwanese traditional song "Happy Sailing", and this friendly gesture received applause from the people around them. It’s also worth noting that the Kaohsiung delegation also went to Edinburgh Castle to watch the world-famous Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. This event combined Scottish bagpipe with magnificent performances of military bands from various countries; they were all deeply moved by the spirit and pride of Scotland.
Speaker KANG sincerely hope this visit would lay the foundation to strengthen the partnership between Kaohsiung and Edinburgh, she will continue to promote actively more cooperation between our two cities in art and culture, urban development, and net-zero, thus to expand Kaohsiung City’s international exchange and engagement.
(Original link: https://www.kcc.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=46&sms=8971&s=16550)
