Under the statue of S’ung Dynasty Poet Soo Dong Po are: ( from right) Translator girl in red, Mrs Mo, Joseph Mo, Andy Merryfield, Meishan Deputy Mayor Yang, Liu and Yang two Directors of Sichuan Oversea Office, a Chengdu soldier, Wu Yupeng Vice Chair of Hakka International, her brother.

Cllr Mark Edwards, the Conservative Chairman of the Health and Leisure Panel at Taunton Deane Borough Council, has asked for the Council to give consideration to the idea of Twinning Taunton Deane with the Chengdu region in China. The Health and Leisure Panel are being asked to set up a “task and finish scrutiny panel” to consider the idea and bring forward recommendations to develop the concept.

The chairman of the Chinese Anglo Society, Joseph Mo, has been actively pursuing a cultural link with the Chengdu district for the last year. He set up an official visit last year visiting local government officials and the museum there with a representative from the Somerset Racial Equality Council. They are expecting to receive a delegation from China in the Autumn and would like the support of Taunton Deane Borough Council to help host the exchange.  In addition the Chengdu province holds an International Trade Fair annually which might be of interest to businesses across the district and county.

Cllr Edwards said, “I believe that Taunton Deane should actively pursue these links with the possibility of twinning in the future. The Chinese markets for services, technical and creative skills are huge and Taunton Deane businesses could benefit from these business connections, as well as becoming an established point of contact for the South West region. In addition the cultural and social benefits could be enormous with Somerset Arts Promoters and the Chamber of Trade and Commerce also being encouraged to become involved.

“I would like to see this as a modern day twinning using videoconferencing and the internet so we can communicate in many new ways with our counterparts in China. I would like to see schools involved across Taunton Deane with virtual classrooms being set up so that Chinese and British children could communicate on a regular basis via video conferencing all very simple to progress and potentially hugely impactful”.

Joseph Mo presents the Taunton Emblem to the Head of Chengdu Oversea Office in his office, Dongsheng Street, Chengdu.

“The world is a far smaller place today and it is so easy to communicate with all parts of the globe. I want the people of Taunton to be given the opportunity to reach out and benefit from the economics and embrace the arts and culture of one of the most dynamic developing countries in the world. I am sure the idea will have its critics as China has been heavily criticised for human rights violations but I believe that we can change the way of the world and if we can all be one step closer to understanding the culture of one of the worlds largest countries we will all benefit and maybe influence each other in small but hugely impactful ways.”