Ｄｅｄｉｃａｔｅｄ ｔｏ Ｅｘｃｈａｎｇｅｓ Ａｃｒｏｓｓ ｔｈｅ Ｐａｃｉｆｉｃ Ｏｃｅａｎ

——Notes on Richard Neuheisel President of US Sister City Foundation and Tempe Sister City Corporation

Richard Neuheisel， doctor of law， founded the Tempe Sister City Corporation (TSCC) in 1970 and has been its president since then. He was the president of Sister Cities International (SCI) of the United States from 1981 to 1996 and has been the president of the US Sister City Foundation since 1996.

Richard Neuheisel， the initiator and witness of the friendly exchanges between Zhenjiang and Tempe， was conferred upon the title of Honorary Citizen of Zhenjiang at a meeting Zhenjiang held to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its twinning of friendship-city ties with Tempe of the U. S. in October 2004. Ms. Xu Jinrong， mayor of Zhenjiang， presented the certificate of Honorary Citizen to Neuheisel and thanked him for the contributions he had made in the past 15 years to the exchanges and development of relations between the two cities.

To re-radiant the former residence of Pearl S. Buck

In his capacity as president of the SCI， Neuheisel visited Zhenjiang for the first time in 1986 in search of cities to establish friendly and cooperative relations. Zhenjiang， a city with long history and ancient culture， beautiful landscapes， convenient land and river transport， and geographic advantages of being on the bank of the Yangtze River easy to reach the sea， won praises from this American friend. He fell in love with the city at the first sight and told the CPAFFC his desire to forge friendship-city relations with Zhenjiang. With his active promotion and the concerted efforts made in various aspects by the two sides in the following 3 years， Zhenjiang and Tempe of Arizona finally forged friendship-city ties. Neuheisel said happily: “We are ‘married’ after dating for 3 years.”

In March 1989， Dr. Neuheisel flew over the Pacific once again. Together with Harry Mitchell， mayor of Tempe， he led important government officials of the city and members of the TSCC to Zhenjiang to attend the signing ceremony of the agreement on the establishment of friendship-city relations between the two cities. They visited the natural scenery spots of Zhenjiang， its modern port and enterprises， and the former residence of Pearl S. Buck， a Nobel Prize winner in literature. Chen Bixian， the then mayor of Zhenjiang， briefed them on the life of Pearl Buck in Zhenjiang and her influence in Zhenjiang City， Jiangsu Province and China as a whole as an envoy of culture and friendship between China and the United States. The former residence， a two-storey building on the beautiful Dengyun Hill， was built in 1914. Standing on the porch of the building， one commands a panoramic view of the flowing Yangtze River and the city of Zhenjiang. Pearl Buck was born in West Virginia， the United States in 1892 and came to China with her missionary father in 1894. She lived in China for 18 years. Growing up in Zhenjiang， the mountains and rivers here gave her the inspiration to write The House of Earth and other books. Pearl Buck occupied a unique place in history and had special influence in China and the world at large， especially in the United States and other western countries. She was called envoy of friendship and cultural exchange between China and the United States. Neuheisel was touched by the spirit of Pearl Buck and he expressed thanks to Zhenjiang for preserving this historic and cultural relic. He said: “Pearl S. Buck established the cultural bridge between America and China. She did great contributions to both China and America.” “We will follow her spirit of human-bridge， to re-radiant her former residence.” He expressed the hope to renovate this commemorative building together with Zhenjiang right there and then. The two cities agreed to make the renovation of the building the first thing to do after the twinning. They signed a cooperation agreement in December 1990 with Tempe providing in batches 50，000 US dollars for the first period of the renovation project. Then， the experts from both sides checked the building and worked out a renovation plan. Zhenjiang City carried out the full-scale renovation， which was completed at the end of 1991. The project restored the building to its original appearance and the conditions when Pearl Buck lived there. It opened to the public as a museum of friendly exchanges on October 31， 1992， the centenary of the birth of Pearl Buck.

Since its opening as the museum of friendly exchanges， it has received about 10，000 foreign visitors from more than 30 countries as well as large numbers of scholars and tourists from other parts of China. News media from countries and regions including the United States， Hong Kong and Macao interviewed the museum workers and published reports on the former residence. It has become a cultural bridge linking China and the west， an important window of Zhenjiang’s external contacts and a symbol of friendship between Zhenjiang and Tempe. Today， it has been listed as a provincial historic relic protection unit by the Jiangsu Province.

“The future relationships belong to the young generation”

Neuheisel attached great importance to fostering the younger generation to carry on the exchanges between the two cities. He said: “The future relationships are belonging to the young generation. We will make everlasting friends.” “Let young people inherit the friendship， which is endowed by history.” Based on the desire to make everlasting friends and with his enthusiastic initiative， a programme was signed between Zhenjiang and Tempe in 1993 to carry out middle school student exchanges during the summer vacation every year.

According to the programme the students lived in their counterparts’ homes. As strangers full of curiosity， they experienced the daily life of foreign ordinary families. Many American students became fascinated with the Chinese culture. They learned to speak Chinese， sing Peking Opera and dance yangge dance; some learned to cook Chinese dishes and make Chinese dumplings， etc. The trip to the United States enabled the students of Zhenjiang to experience the life and study of the American students and widened their vision. They saw the real western world. The exchange programme expanded to include teachers. The teachers exchange programme was launched in 2000. The teachers of the two cities got together， learned each other’s teaching concepts and methods and improved the quality of their teaching. Up to now， the two cities have carried out 10 rounds of exchanges of visits involving 68 students and 28 teachers. Through these exchanges， the teachers and students have deepened their understanding of each other’s countries and forged profound friendship. Quite a number of them have kept correspondence over the years. The life and customs of the other country and the fraternal friendship have deeply rooted in the hearts of the young students and teachers， which are the seeds of Sino-American people’s friendship among the youth.

“Good friends should share with each other”

On October 27， 2004， the Danyang People’s Square in Zhenjiang was crowded with people and filled with a warm and friendly atmosphere. Coloured flags fluttered and banners with the words: “Peace in the world and friendship among the peoples”， “Mutual exchanges and sincere care” were flying in the air. The sign with the words: The ceremony of Tempe of the U. S. donating wheelchairs to Zhenjiang” was eye-catching.

To give support to Zhenjiang in the area of charity and show more care for the disabled people， the TSCC donated 240 wheelchairs bought with 36，000 US dollars it had raised to the disabled in Zhenjiang on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the twinning of friendship-city ties between Zhenjiang and Tempe. When the disabled， assisted by the student volunteers， were seated in the brand new wheelchairs， they were very moved by the kindness of Neuheisel and other American friends who had come from afar. Zhou Xiaoping， a disabled person， said: “Your care and support are a humanitarian act benefiting the disabled people. Disability is cruel， but people are affectionate. Wheelchair has a price， but affection is priceless.” Neuheisel made an impromptu speech on behalf of the USSCF amid warm applause. He said: “So many disabled people are confined to wheelchairs. We have the same skin. They should enjoy their life and enjoy the same sunlight. Good friends should share with each other. Please allow me to shake hands with you.” Neuheisel walked down the platform to the mist of the disabled people， shaking hands with each of them and handing out his name cards. The disabled present there were deeply touched by the profound feelings shown by this foreign friend from the other side of the Pacific. With tears in their eyes， many of them held Neuheisel’s hands and said repeatedly “xie xie (thank you)”， the two Chinese words that Neuheisel could understand to express their feeling of gratitude. Neuheisel was also moved to tears. He wished the disabled happiness and good health. “We all live on the same earth. We should build friendship and let more people have a pleasant life，” said he. “I will help you again. This is what friends should do. I will do more work and let more people benefit from us.” The donation of wheelchairs not only made the work and life of the disabled convenient， but also gave them the confidence and courage to overcome disability. The ceremony ended， but the disabled people would not leave. They clasped Neuheisel by the hand and embraced him.

“We will draw our sleeves to do more for our cooperation”

Over the past 15 years， Richard Neuheisel， sparing no efforts， has actively promoted the exchanges and cooperation between the two friendship cities. In the past 15 years， Zhenjiang has sent 18 friendship delegations consisting of 95 people and 9 specialized groups of 33 people to visit Tempe， and received 27 delegations and groups consisting of 168 people from Tempe. The middle school student basketball team of Tempe came to Zhenjiang and played 5 friendship matches. Robert Peshall， former coordinator of the friendships between Tempe and Zhenjiang， taught English in Zhenjiang for half a year. Ms. Yu Ning from Arizona invested 200，000 US dollars in Hengshun Pickle and Vinegar Factory for the improvement of the quality and packing of vinegar， a major product of Zhenjiang， and another 200，000 US dollars to the Changjiang Auto Parts Factory. Zhengjiang was invited to take part in the designing of a Chinese garden in Phoenix City of Arizona and constructed the Zhenjiang section of the garden. The city sent two groups of people to work in the Tempe City Government and the Chamber of Commerce for 4 months in 1994 and 1999 to familiarize themselves with the environment of Tempe. In the autumn of 2003， it successfully held a series of activities including Zhenjiang Economic and Trade Fair and Zhenjiang TV Week in Tempe. The Tempe TV station broadcast at prime time for about a month several TV documentary series such as Zhenjiang China， Zhenjiang Three Hills and West Old Ferry that reflected the history， culture， social undertakings and economic development of Zhenjiang， with a total broadcasting time of 40 hours.

At the Sino-US Sister Cities Conference jointly held by the CPAFFC and Sister Cities International of the United States in Beijing in 1996， Neuheisel spoke highly of the friendly ties between Tempe and Zhenjiang， saying that they had set an example for other sister cities between China and the U. S. The report on the student exchanges Zhenjiang was invited to deliver at the China International Friendship City Conference held in Beijing in 2001 was highly praised by the participants.

As one of the founders of Sister Cities International， and well-known social activist， Neuheisel has visited China 8 times and Zhenjiang 4 times， devoting much of his energies to the exchanges between Zhenjiang and Tempe. At the meeting in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of friendship-city relations between the two cities， Neuheisel said that the two cities would carry out more extensive exchanges and make more efforts to promote the exchanges especially in economy and trade. He invited Zhenjiang to take part in the annual economic forum held in Phoenix City so as to give impetus to the economic exchanges and development of the two cities. He said: “We are proud of what we have done in the past， but the road ahead is wider. We start to write a new chapter today. We will draw our sleeves to do more for our cooperation， do more contributions for the mutual development and prosperity.” “Zhenjiang and Tempe， China and America， they stand together， they will have better futures.”

The author is deputy director general of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Zhenjiang City People’s Government