| | Oct 13th, 2005
| | | Delegation gets warm welcome in China
| | | By Bruce Bartlett
Telegraph-Journal
Despite 48 hours on planes, with no hotel stops, Mayor Norm McFarlane says it hasn't slowed down the Saint John delegation's visit to China.
Fog last weekend at home delayed their plane so they missed a direct flight from Toronto to Hong Kong and had to detour through Los Angeles.
"We left on Saturday morning about five o'clock and we got here Monday morning about five o'clock with no sleep," said Mr. McFarlane, by phone on Wednesday.
After checking into their hotel, showering and changing clothes they were out at their first meeting two hours later.
"It's been continual meetings from Monday right through," he said.
The mayor is excited by opportunities for port-related initiatives between Saint John and the city of Shenzhen, which is next to Hong Kong, and other ports further up the Pearl River in Guanxi province.
Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the two cities in southern China where the delegation is visiting, are part of a region known as the Pearl River Delta. It is a powerful economic region whose population is comparable to that of the entire European Union. Its nine provinces account for more than a third of China's GDP.
Wednesday Mr. McFarlane was invited to join the Deputy Premier of China at the opening of the high tech fair in Shenzhen, the largest in Asia.
"We stood on the stage, with thousands and thousands of people watching the ceremonies," said the mayor.
Following a special dinner hosted by Shenzhen for the Saint John delegation, a memorandum of understanding and friendship was signed Wednesday between the two cities.
Despite the fact that Shenzhen was a fishing village of 8,000 people 25 years ago and is now home to 10 million, Mr. McFarlane says there are similarities with Saint John.
"What makes a city great is the people and the people here and the people here are very much the same," he said.
The two cities also have ports and high tech industries, he said.
Because of the trip there will be more opportunities for any Saint John businesses wanting to do business in China. As well, more Chinese business people are becoming aware of Saint John as a source of investment opportunities, he said.
Police Chief Al Bodechon, who also went on the trip, said he has talked to locals about the differences in policing between the two countries.
In Canada police are much closer to the community and focus on crime prevention as well as law enforcement. In China policing is more about law enforcement, he said.
Chief Bodechon is meeting with Chinese high school students today and hopes to gain a better understanding of their concerns so he can make Chinese students in New Brunswick feel more comfortable with the police. |
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