President Lee Teng-hui this morning extended hearty welcome to visiting San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and hoped that the Mayor's visit will help
promote bilateral trade relations.
During their meeting, President Lee and Mayor Brown exchanged views on a wide range of issues, including trade, financial, educational and medical care areas.
Since Taipei and San Francisco inked a sister cities agreememt in the 1970s, exchanges between the two cities have been frequent. President Lee also visited San Francisco when he served as mayor of Taipei. So he expressed to Mayor Brown his concern about the city.
When talking about his own experiences as a mayor, the President compared a city mayor to a babysitter, saying that a mayor is always busy with tackling all kinds of problems of a city. However, he noted, it is a wonderful feeling to have direct contact with the citizens and to help solve their problems.
Mayor Brown was accompanied by ROC Vice Foreign Minister Chen Chien-jen to the Office of the President for the meeting. Dr. Ding Mou-shih, secretary-general of the ROC National Security Council, and Mr. Stephen S. F. Chen, deputy secretary-general to the President, were also present.