Secretariat, Taipei City Government

  On July 18, Mayor Wan-An Chiang met with Ambassador Roudy Stanley Penn from the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti and his delegation, which included Minister Counselor , Francilien Victorin, and First Secretary, Margareth Fabien. The two sides discussed topics pertaining to city administration and future collaborations. 

  Mayor Chiang indicated that Haiti is a committed long-term partner of Taiwan (or the Republic of China). Since the establishment of official ties in 1965, the two countries have maintained a close relationship. Mayor Chiang also expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Penn for participating in numerous events held by the city government and attending his mayoral inauguration in 2022. He hopes that the ambassador will continue supporting the events held by the city government in the future.

  Ambassador Penn thanked Mayor Chiang for arranging the meeting and reaffirmed the stable relationship between Haiti and Taiwan, as well as the values shared by the two countries, including democracy, unity, and freedom. Ambassador Penn expressed that he felt honored to serve as the bridge between the two countries, assist Haitian enterprises in investing and establishing entrepreneurships in Taiwan, and collaborate with Taipei City Government to hold cultural events. He hopes that the meeting with Mayor Chiang will lead to the establishment of additional communication channels between the embassy and the city government.

  Ambassador Penn was born in the capital city of Port-au-Prince in 1983. Mayor Chiang commented that it is uncommon for him to meet an ambassador who is younger than himself. Mayor Chiang was impressed with the ambassador’s efforts in various domains such as youth affairs, civic participation, and politics. Mayor Chiang indicated that the ambassador’s efforts to promote society reforms left a profound and positive impression on him.

  Responding to Ambassador Penn’s inquiries about the opportunities for Haiti citizens to invest in and start entrepreneurships in Taipei, the Deputy Commissioner of Economic Development Wu Hsin-pei explained that the Invest Taipei Office of Taipei City provides a one-stop consultation service for foreign entrepreneurs and investors, thereby helping them to navigate Taipei’s business environment and access investment and entrepreneurship subsidies, collaboration opportunities, and cross-department administrative assistance. Regarding the promotion of cultural exchanges and collaborations, Senior Specialist of the Department of Cultural Affairs Lee Ping-chen expressed his willingness to assist the embassy in organizing cultural exchange events.

  In response to Mayor Chiang’s compliments, praising him as a young and promising leader, Ambassador Penn indicated that both him and Mayor Chiang are young leaders whose youth enables them to embrace diversity and confront challenges courageously. The ambassador expressed his hope for more exchanges and collaborations with Taipei City Government in the future.

  Finally, knowing that the ambassador shares his passion for basketball, Mayor Chiang gifted the ambassador a potted butterfly orchid, which was created using recycled basketballs to symbolize the mayor’s hopes for establishing a friendship with the ambassador through basketball. Additionally, because both the mayor and the ambassador have children, Mayor Chiang kindly inquired about the ages of Ambassador Penn’s two children and prepared several thoughtful gifts for them, including English pictures books about Taipei City and a model toy of a double-decker tourist bus. Mayor Chiang said that he has three sons and smiled while recalling his experience of waking up at midnight to care for his five-month-old son. The two fathers then had an enjoyable discussion about their experiences with raising children.

  In return, Ambassador Penn gifted Mayor Chiang a bottle of traditional Haitian rum and a local hat from Haiti inscribed with the words “Yon tè yon nanm,” which mean “Land with a soul” in Haitian Creole. The words highlight the rich historic culture of Haiti and carry a unique meaning.