San Jose, the third-largest city in California, officially proclaimed Oct. 25 to be “Republic of China Day,” recognizing the Taiwanese American community’s lasting contributions to the city’s cultural and economic life. Taiwan’s official name is the Republic of China.
During a city council meeting on Oct. 28, Mayor Matt Mahan presented the proclamation to David Chih-Hsiang Wu, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in San Francisco, Taiwan’s de facto consulate in Northern California.
Decades of Friendship
The proclamation—jointly signed by Mahan and all city council members—commemorates the longstanding ties between San Jose and Tainan, Taiwan, which became sister cities in 1977. It also honors the efforts of the Sino American Heritage Foundation in restoring the Chinese Cultural Garden in Overfelt Gardens Park. The garden is a local landmark built in the 1970s through donations from Taiwan….