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Approving the exchange of Sister-City gifts between Saint Paul and Changsha, China, of a replica famous Chinese Pavilion from Changsha, China, and the reciprocal donation of five (5) Peanuts Sculptures to Changsha, China.
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WHEREAS, the Sister City Program was inaugurated by the President of the United States in 1956 to establish greater friendship and understanding on a person-to-person basis between the people of the United States and other nations through the medium of direct personal contact; and
WHEREAS, the goal of the Saint Paul Sister Cities Program is to provide international economic, cultural, and educational opportunities for the City of Saint Paul and its Sister Cities in other countries; and
WHEREAS, Saint Paul has been Sister Cities with Changsha, Hunan Province, China, since the formalization of that relationship in 1988 under then Mayor George Latimer; and
WHEREAS, Phalen Regional Park is a sister-park to Yanghu Wetland Park in Changsha, China, as formalized under Mayor Chris Coleman in 2015; and
WHEREAS, the concept and location of the China Garden was approved as part of the Phalen Regional Park Master Plan in 2011; and
WHEREAS, Changsha, China, thru efforts with Yanghu Wetlands Park, has offered the generous donation of a replica of Changsha’s Aiwan Ting Pavilion, one of four famous pavilions in China, to the City of Saint Paul to be installed at Phalen Regional Park in 2018; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul wishes to reciprocate this gift by donating a set of five (5) Peanuts statues to be installed in Yanghu Wetlands Park; and
WHEREAS, The Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society has commissioned Minnesota Hmong artist Kao Lee Thao and Minnesota Chinese artist Shen Yundong to design two of the five Peanuts statues honoring Saint Paul native, the late Charles Schultz, symbolizing our friendship to Changsha, China; and
WHEREAS, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, the District 5 Planning Council, and The Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society have hosted numerous community engagement meetings and information booths at community events over the past three years; and
WHEREAS, The Minnesota China Garden Friendship Society has raised funds for the sister-city gift exchange; and
WHEREAS, the City has a received a letter of support from the Hmong Cultural Plaza Advisory Group; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul will continue to work with The Minnesota China Garden Friendship Society to support fundraising for the design and construction within the China Garden of a Hmong Embroidery Wall near the replica Pavilion, a Hmong Cultural Plaza, and a site for a future cultural gift from the Changsha Hmong to the Minnesota Hmong; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City of Saint Paul hereby approves the exchange of sister-city gifts and accepts the generous donation of the replica pavilion and thanks Changsha, China and Yanghu Wetlands Park for this generous gift, and authorizes the creation and exchange of the five Peanuts statues to Changsha, China, to be installed in Yanghu Wetlands Park.