Yilan County establishes Naha office to promote cooperation among fishermen

Yilan County establishes Naha office to promote cooperation among fishermen

Magistrate of Yilan County Lin Tsung-hsien (fifth from left) and Governor Takeshi Onaga at the Okinawa Prefectual Government Office on September 6.


September 7, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On September 6, Northeastern Taiwan’s Yilan County established an office in Kumoji, Naha City to promote cultural exchange in the fields of sightseeing and business, and among fishermen. According to a person involved in the establishment of the office, this is the first time a municipality from Taiwan has set up an office in Okinawa. Magistrate of Yilan County Lin Tsung-hsien, as chairman of the board of the Taiwan Okinawa Association, declared that the aim of this office was to be a place for “a deepening of cultural exchange in every field, such as economics and education.”

Lin visited Governor Takeshi Onaga the same day at the Okinawa Prefectural Office, and spoke to him about Yilan County’s new office. According to Lin, one person will be in charge of the office for now. In addition, Lin requested that Onaga come to visit Yilan County. Onaga said that Taiwan and Okinawa are like siblings, and that he wants them to “build a strong relationship and advance together.” He voiced his desire to visit Yilan County, also.

Okinawa and Yilan County have the same purpose in promoting cultural exchange between fishermen, since fishermen of Okinawa and Yilan County have been at odds with each other since the enactment of the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement. Lin says that fishermen of both regions seek out many of the same species of fish, such as Bluefin tuna. He went on to say the goal of this office is to create a platform for fishermen of Okinawa and Yilan County to cooperate, rather than compete with each other.

During his visit to Okinawa, Lin went to see Okinawa IT Shinryo Park. He explained that Yilan County is planning to install an intelligent transportation system, and that if he finds a good system, he hopes to adopt it. In addition, Japan’s nursing industry is more advanced than Taiwan’s, so he wanted to observe it.

(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)

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