[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 1824-1825]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     U.S.-CHINA SISTER CITY PROGRAM

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the Sister City 
programs in Ohio. The Sister Cities International program was created 
by President Eisenhower in 1956 with the intent

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of fostering peace and prosperity through cultural exchanges that 
promote appreciation through mutual experience and understanding.
  Through the years, relationships have been formed and strengthened 
through ``citizen diplomacy'' and person-to-person exchanges between 
U.S. and international cities. These educational, informational, and 
cultural exchanges have not only created important diplomatic, economic 
and trade relationships, but they have also formed lasting personal 
bonds between individuals and cities.
  The Sister City programs have positively impacted many cities 
throughout the United States, but today I would like to specifically 
recognize the 2014 U.S.-China Sister City Award recipients in my home 
State of Ohio. The State of Ohio was one of four recipients in the 
country for the Longest Relationship Award for its relationship that 
began in 1979 with the Hubei Province. Cincinnati was one of four 
programs in our Nation to be recognized as a Best Overall U.S.-China 
Sister City program in 2014. This strong relationship between 
Cincinnati and its Chinese Sister City Liuzhou in the Guangxi Province 
has existed since 1988. I was honored to be one of the original board 
members of this special Sister City relationship. In addition, the 
Columbus Sister City program was one of only three U.S.-China Sister 
City programs in the country to win a Sustainable Development Award. 
The relationship between Columbus and its Chinese Sister City, Hefei in 
the Anhui Province also began in 1988.
  The U.S.-China Sister City programs in Ohio have been successful in 
forming relationships that mutually benefit the partnering communities 
by building global cooperation at the municipal level, promoting 
cultural understanding, and encouraging economic development. Some of 
the cultural exchanges made possible through these programs in Ohio 
include educational student and teacher exchanges, home stays, summer 
language camp exchanges, art exchanges, and science and medical 
exchanges.
  The participants in these programs have demonstrated a commitment to 
enrich their communities culturally and economically, and I am inspired 
by the achievements that have been made in Ohio. I would like to 
congratulate the Ohio Sister City programs on being 2014 U.S.-China 
Sister City award recipients.

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