A group of mayors from the Republic of China "had traveled ten thousand miles to learn ten thousand volumes of knowledge," Taipei Mayor Jackson C. T. Yang told the U.S. Mayors' Conference held in Minneapolis June 22. Mayor Yang was leading the ROC delegation to the conference, which was attended by 300 U.S. mayors.

The main purpose of the participation, third by such a group from Taiwan, was to look into city government practices in the U.S. for adoption in the ROC. In addition, the ROC mayors paid courtesy calls on Chinese scholars in the U.S. and leaders of overseas Chinese communities.

After spending four days in Minneapolis, the group, comprised of the mayors of Taipei, Hualien, Keelung, Taichung, Changhua and Nantou, headed for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas and Boston. The delegation was warmly received wherever it went. Said mayor Yang, "The people we met were all very friendly. The organizers of the U.S. mayors' conference invited me to deliver a speech and the chairman correctly referred to our country as the Republic of China. In each city we visited, the mayors, and sometimes the governors, received us personally to give us the keys to their cities and honorary citizenship. It all went to show that the longstanding friendship between Free China and America is as firm as ever."

Mayor Yang was also moved by the deep love of their mother country displayed by all the Chinese he met in America. Before they left Taiwan President Chiang Ching-kuo met with the mayors to convey his concern for his compatriots in America, "When we informed them how healthy and alert President Chiang was when we saw him, our compatriots in America were overjoyed," said Mayor Yang.

Because of the different conditions prevailing in the two countries, Mayor Yang believes that not all U.S. city government practices are directly applicable in Taiwan. He listed traffic and parking control, street stall management, and garbage disposal as areas in which Taiwan could learn from the U.S.

Finding a parking spot in Taipei is becoming more and more difficult. For this reason Mayor Yang was particularly impressed by the comprehensive way parking problems are solved in the U.S. underground and multi-story car parks are American solutions which may be feasible in Taipei. The mayor was also impressed by Boston's subway system, and believes that a subway will be the only way to solve Taiwan's future traffic problems.

Street stalls in Taipei have become an eyesore and a traffic hazard. Mayor Yang was interested to see that city governments in America have managed to turn their street stalls into tourist attractions.

Born into a poor family in Hualien, Jackson Yang graduated from the Tainan Institute of Technology and worked with the Taiwan Power Company for 35 years. His training as an engineer has given him the ability to approach problems calmly and objectively. He is a firm advocate of scientific management of cities and insists on job responsibility and follow-up work.

[Picture Caption]

1. Taipei Mayor Jackson C. T. Yang has an engineering background. 2. Mayor Yang's wife joined the ROC mayors' delegation in singing "Ode to the ROC" in San Francisco. 3. Mayor Yang inspects a sewage treatment plant.

1. Mayor Yang delivers a speech at the annual U.S. conference of mayors. 2. A special assistant of U.S. president Reagan is seen chatting with the delegation of ROC mayors in San Francisco. 3. Presenting a Chinese fan to the Governor of Massachusetts.

Mayor Yang's wife joined the ROC mayors' delegation in singing "Ode to the ROC" in San Francisco.

Mayor Yang inspects a sewage treatment plant.

Mayor Yang delivers a speech at the annual U.S. conference of mayors.

A special assistant of U.S. president Reagan is seen chatting with the delegation of ROC mayors in San Francisco.

Presenting a Chinese fan to the Governor of Massachusetts.