Newport, R.I., may soon add another city to its list of “sister cities” — a relationship that encourages an economic, cultural and social exchange between similar municipalities — after being approached by a representative for Tamsui, Taiwan.
Newport already has six established relationships with cities in Japan, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Canada.
The possibility of a relationship with the port city Tamsui was first proposed at the Taiwanese Film and Cultural Festival Oct. 26 in Newport.
“Newport is a beautiful city, and we can have a mutual arrangement to improve the tourism in both places,” said John Chu, director of information at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston, adding that he hopes to “enhance awareness of local communities about Taiwan” through more cultural events like the festival.
The city’s first sister relationship began in 1958 with Shimoda, Japan, and Newport maintains a strong connection with the city, said Newport Mayor Harry Winthrop.
Rhode Island’s relationship with Japan began when Commodore Matthew Perry, who was born in Newport, anchored his ships off the coast of Japan in 1853 and refused to leave until he spoke to a representative about opening trade with the United States, Winthrop said. In honor of this event, Newport formed a relationship with the port city of Shimoda.
Today, the city’s relationship with Japan continues to grow, Winthrop said. “We’ve also set up educational exchanges in Shimoda. We’ve had at least half a dozen students who have become fluent in Japanese, and one of them now works in Tokyo at a software company,” he said.
Newport established sister city relationships with Kinsale, Ireland, in 2002 and with Imperia, Italy, in 1984, Winthrop said, adding that Newport maintains strong ties with these cities.
“This year, one of the people who established the sister city with Kinsale has been asked to be the Grand Marshal in their parade,” Winthrop said, adding that students from the Irish city come to work in Newport every summer.
Newport’s relationships with St. John, New Brunswick, Canada and with Imperia were based on friendships between those cities’ mayors and the mayor of Newport at the time, said Winthrop. “The one in St. John really didn’t stick,” he said. “Imperia has been better, and they want to grow the relationship in the future.”
The relationship with Ponta Delgada, Portugal is a result of the strong Portuguese community in Newport, Winthrop said.
At its launch, the sister city program was established to increase tourism to Newport, as well as facilitating cultural exchanges, but a lack of participation has led to stagnated progress with many of the cities.
“I like the idea of sister cities but I think, at this point, it needs to be more defined in terms of bringing economic exchanges, trade and students,” said Councilor-at-Large Jeanne-Marie Napolitano.
The city is currently attempting to create new initiatives to involve more people in the sister city relationships. Kinsale, Ponta Delgada and Skiathos, Greece have already established clubs to bolster interest, Winthrop said.
“The programming right now for some of these events is done by a small, finite number of people and I think we should be expanding so that more people can participate in the planning and maybe have a better understanding of the cultures,” Napolitano said, adding that the sister city programs are “a great opportunity” but need to be better defined.
Winthrop said Newport looks for towns of similar “size, economy and features, such as shorelines,” when searching for a new sister city. Both municipalities must consider what benefits could be gained from the relationship, he added.
A partnership with Tamsui would require approval from the City Council, and discussions over establishing a new sister program with the Taiwanese city are “in the early stages,” Winthrop said. “We’re willing to look at it, but we wouldn’t take it on just to put another notch on our belt. We really want to make the existing relationships work.”
Many friendships have developed between Newport residents and residents of sister cities, Winthrop said. “Even in countries like Japan where there’s a huge language barrier, you find yourself transcending the language barrier and learning how to communicate.”
“What you find out is that people are basically the same around the world,” Napolitano said. “They have the same hopes, dreams and desires, so I think we should have a more formalized relationship with goals set aside.”
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