Ａｔｔｅｎｄｉｎｇ ２００４ Ｎａｔｉｏｎａｌ Ｇｅｎｅｒａｌ Ａｓｓｅｍｂｌｙ ｏｆ Ａｕｓｔｒａｌｉａｎ Ｌｏｃａｌ Ｇｏｖｅｒｎｍｅｎｔ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ

At the invitation of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA)， the CPAFFC dispatched a delegation of 13 local officials headed by Mr. Zhang Shixun， vice mayor of Shangqiu City of Henan Province to attend the 2004 National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra from November 7 to 10， 2004 and visit New Zealand after the assembly.

2004 National General Assembly of Local Government

The ALGA， founded in 1947， is a national semi-governmental organization with group membership including local government associations of 6 states and Northern Territory， representing 673 councils across the country. The theme of the assembly was “Seize the moment: communities， vision and opportunities” focusing on economic， social and environmental sustainability. Around 800 delegates present at the assembly conducted in-depth discussions and debates on the above issues.Prominent national political leaders， local government leaders， leading Australian experts and academics were invited as keynote speakers. Australian Prime Minister John Howard delivered a speech at the closing ceremony. Councillor Rae Perry， mayor of Darebin in Melbourne， was elected president of the ALGA at the end of the assembly.

The CPAFFC enjoys a friendly relationship with ALGA over the years and sent many delegations to participate in its assembly. Prior to the opening of the reception on the afternoon of Nov. 17， President Montgomery， together with 18 ALGA leaders， met with the Chinese delegation and expressed his warm welcome. He introduced our delegation to all the delegates present at the reception. He said that the friendship between China and Australia was very important and conducive to diplomacy， economy， trade and tourism as well as to world peace. Australian people are very warm， hospitable and friendly and he hoped that the Chinese delegates would fully experience this during their stay in Australia. After his speech quite a number of Australian delegates came up to extend their good wishes to us and showed great interest in forging and developing sister city ties between the two countries.

At the grand welcoming banquet on the evening of the opening ceremony， Mr. Paul Bell， vice president of the ALGA， said that they were greatly honored and deeply moved by the Chinese delegations’ attendance in their assembly. The Chinese friends conveyed Chinese people’s friendship to the Australian people and they would keep it forever. He stated， the local governments should stand at the forefront of exchanges with other countries. As the ALGA leader in charge of international affairs， he was willing to place Australia-China friendship on top priority of his agenda.

Making Extensive Contacts with Australian and New Zealand Local Government Officials

During our visits in Australia and New Zealand， the delegation extensively contacted local authorities and friendly organizations of the two countries. In Brisbane， Mr. Keith Jenvey， national president of Australia China Friendship Society and his wife met with the delegation and had dinner together. In Melbourne， the group called on the city council. The city officials told us proudly that the sister-city tie between Melbourne and Tianjin had achieved substantial results. This pair of sister cities had the closest and most extensive exchanges among all the 6 sister cities that Australia had twinned with other countries.

When our delegation visited Rotorua in New Zealand， Mr. Peter Guerin， chief executive of Rotorua District Council and his wife hosted a banquet in our honour. They recalled pleasantly how deeply impressed they were and how hospitably they were treated by the CPAFFC during their visit to China earlier this year. They also explored the possibility of sister city twinning between Shangqiu and Rotorua.