The Mayor’s Office, represented by Hector Miramontes, Director of Foreign Relations, and the Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association, represented by President Lynne McIntyre, welcomed the Suzhou Cultural Bureau led by Mr. Jie Li, Director General of the Suzhou Cultural Bureau. Also accompanying the Suzhou delegation was Mr. Shi Hai Chen, Director of the Zhangjiagang Municipal Bureau of Culture and their Assistant Ms. Jincy Chen.
The purpose of the meeting was to restate the commitment of Portland and Suzhou to the enduring friendship between the two cities and to discuss the opportunities provided by the 2018 PSSCA 30th Anniversary Celebrations, and to build upon the two sister city’s cooperation of cultural exchanges.
After discussing a number of exciting opportunities at this meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed. The ultimate goal, as stated by Mr. Jie Li is to achieve a cultural project that will have an enduring affect for generations to come. Also attending the meeting were Robert Fraser, PSSCA VP; Lisa James, Executive Director of the Lan Su Chinese Garden; Jean Li and Frances Li, PSSCA Board Members, Cathy Chinn, PSSCA Past President; and Helena Gao, Editor of China Media.