San Francisco Marks 45th Anniversary of San Francisco-Shanghai Sister City Relationship 

Media Contact: 
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Established in 1979 by Mayor Dianne Feinstein, the Sister City was the first established between the United States and China and today remains an integral component for diplomatic relations  

21 April 2024 – SHANGHAI: San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed joined Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng of the People’s Republic of China, the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai, local government leaders, members of the Shanghai Sister City Committee, and the Mayor’s delegation on Saturday in Shanghai to mark the 45th anniversary of the San Francisco Shanghai Sister City relationship. 

The Sister City memorandum of understanding between the two cities will be signed and renewed next month in May when Mayor Gong leads a Shanghai Sister City delegation to San Francisco. Yesterday during the anniversary reception, Mayors Breed and Gong reemphasized commitments on behalf of San Francisco and Shanghai to advance mutually beneficial economic cultivation opportunities, cultural exchange efforts including exploring possibilities for student exchange programs, and tourism promotion.  

Over the years, the San Francisco Shanghai Sister City partnership has seen more than 200 collaborative projects across various sectors. Notable events include “Shanghai Week in SF” and “SF Week in Shanghai.” The relationship has also facilitated interactions with future Chinese leaders and played a key role in San Francisco’s participation in the Shanghai Expo 2010.  

“I am deeply grateful to be in beautiful Shanghai with Mayor Gong to mark the 45th anniversary of the San Francisco-Shanghai Sister City Relationship,” said Mayor London Breed. “Our sister city relationship stands as a bridge between our nations, facilitating valuable exchanges that drive progress, innovation, and mutual understanding. We not only celebrate the rich history and achievements of our partnership but also reaffirm our commitment to a future built on mutual respect, understanding, and collaboration.” 

“Mayor Breed’s visit has been very productive, and I look forward to leading a delegation to visit San Francisco in May,” said Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng. “I believe that such exchanges and visits will enhance the friendly ties and promote better cooperations in economy, culture and commerce.” 

Currently, the Sister City relationship includes judicial and government exchanges, business management fellowships, and the development of a Chinese Garden in San Francisco.  

Mayor Gong will lead a Sister City delegation from Shanghai to San Francisco this May. 

“As we celebrate the relationship between San Francisco and Shanghai,’ said Daphne Fang, Chair of the San Francisco Sister City Committee. ‘I am so honored to be able to help connect Mayor Breed and Mayor Gong, and their delegations with various institutes for so many meaningful exchanges among the people of the two cities. I look forward to continuing this work together by collaborating with both cities.” 

In 1979, San Francisco initiated a pioneering Sister City relationship with Shanghai, a major business and financial hub in China. This partnership, the first of its kind between the U.S. and China, was largely the result of dedicated efforts by community leaders like Supervisor Tom Hsieh, Gordon Lau, and notably James Fang. Tragically, Fang passed away in August 2020, but his legacy continues through the diligent stewardship of his wife, Daphne Fang, along with significant contributions from Mrs. Florence Fang and Jim Wunderman of the Bay Area Council.  

This relationship, founded during Mayor Diane Feinstein’s tenure, followed the normalization of U.S.- China diplomatic relations in the late 1970s. Feinstein led a delegation to Beijing and Shanghai, where she and Shanghai Mayor Wang Daohan agreed on a Sister-City relationship. The formal agreement was signed in early 1980, following President Carter’s announcement of official diplomatic ties. 

media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

The Civic Space Foundation Announces Inaugural Los Angeles Initiative

Six Organizations Receive Grants To Support Civil Discourse and Build Community 

www.civicspacefoundation.org

19 April 2024 – Los Angeles, CA: In a major move to promote and enhance civic engagement within Los Angeles County, The Civic Space Foundation (www.civicspacefoundation.org)

a nonprofit organization committed to fostering joyful civic participation, has today announced the winners of a significant grant initiative. Founded by Manny Yekutiel, a Los Angeles native now in San Francisco, the organization has selected six critical civic organizations to receive up to $50,000 each, aimed at funding dynamic in-person civic programs.

The six local Los Angeles awardees are:

• La Más
• Hot and Cool Cafe
• Little Secret
• Boyle Heights Beat
• The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
• LA Voice

“It’s been so incredible seeing Manny’s, the civic space we built in San Francisco, thrive,” said Yekutiel, the founder of The Civic Space Foundation. “Now, it’s a honor to support civic leaders in my hometown who are committed to the crucial work of rallying their communities around causes that matter.”

The selection committee included a broad array of Los Angeles based civic leaders and advocates including former Mayor Michael Tubbs, Policy Director of the Latino Community Foundation Eduardo Garcia, Senior Program Officer at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Ceyron Foo, and Karla Mercado from SoCal Grantmakers to name a few. 

Since opening its doors on Election Night 2018, Manny’s San Francisco has become an epicenter of community involvement, dialogue and civic engagement having served over 60,000 people, staged over 2000 events, donated space to more than 150 area nonprofits and charities. The goal of Manny’s is to create a physical place to go to become a more involved and better informed citizen. 

The new Los Angeles programs, slated to commence in May and run through the end of the calendar year, are the first phase in the Foundation’s broader ambition to catalyze the establishment of a permanent civic space in Los Angeles. This initiative stems from a critical need for physical locations that encourage citizens to gather, discuss, and become more actively involved in their communities.

The selected organizations span a range of civic missions, all unified by their dedication to community involvement and engagement. Over the next year, these groups will launch a series of programs designed to create and nurture spaces where civic joy and active participation can flourish.

The Civic Spaces Fund, the initiative’s official title, underscores the Foundation’s mission to embolden individuals to cultivate joyful civic engagement through community spaces, innovative programming, and collaborative projects.

A total of $250,000 has been allocated for this endeavor, with the intention of empowering these organizations to make a substantial impact in their local neighborhoods.

“Every city should have gathering spaces for people to come together, engage with pressing issues, and actively participate,” Yekutiel said. “My hope is that our efforts here in LA and SF might lead to similar initiatives nationwide.”

Following are details on the individual organizations and their missions:

La Más: Creating and sustaining cooperative systems of living and working together in Northeast LA.

Hot and Cool Cafe: Provides a community hub and creative space to view art, listen to live music, enjoy healthy food, and, of course, drink coffee in Leimert Park.

Little Secret: A one-stop shop for entertainment, education, and connection. Through fun yet meaningful programming, we seek to spark collective imagination and expand our capacity to build power in our community located in Frogtown.

Boyle Heights Beats: A bilingual community news project produced by youth, offering “noticias por y para la comunidad,” or “news by and for the community.”

TheCoalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA): Empowering immigrants to push policies that promote freedom of movement, full human rights, and the vigorous civic action that strengthens this democracy based in Lafayette Park/Westlake.

LA Voice: Based in Santa Monica, Voice is a multi-racial, multi-faith community organization that awakens people to their own power, training them to speak, act, and work together to transform our County into one that reflects the dignity of all people.

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES SAN FRANCISCO ZOO WILL WELCOME PANDAS FROM CHINA 

Mayor Breed joined Chinese officials in Beijing to announce the first official residency for giant pandas in San Francisco in the city’s history  

BEIJING – Mayor London N. Breed joined officials from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), local leaders and members from the Mayor’s delegation today in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China, to announce the San Francisco Zoo has been selected to receive Giant Pandas as part of China’s Panda Diplomacy program.  

The memorandum of understanding signed by Mayor Breed and the CWCA this morning is the first official leased agreement for Giant Pandas to have residency at the San Francisco Zoo. In 1984 and again in 1985, the San Francisco Zoo temporarily hosted Giant Pandas from China as part of a global tour.  

The Mayor’s announcement comes after advocacy leading up to, during and after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) hosted last November in San Francisco, between the City and Chinese government, the NFGA and CWCA, and the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in San Franciso to bring Giant Pandas to the San Francisco Zoo.  

“San Francisco is absolutely thrilled that we will be welcoming Giant Pandas to our San Francisco Zoo,”said Mayor London Breed. “We have been working closely with our local API community to advocate for pandas nearly a year ago leading up to APEC in November, and it’s an honor that our City has been chosen for the first time to be a long-term home for Giant Pandas. San Francisco is an international destination and the gateway to the Asia Pacific – having pandas here will strengthen our already deep cultural connection and honors our Chinese and API heritage that is core to San Francisco’s history. We are ready to welcome visitors from all over the world to our beautiful zoo. This is a momentous opportunity, and one I am grateful for, I know I join so many who can’t wait to see them in San Francisco.”   

President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) traveled to San Francisco in November to meet with President Joseph R. Biden and government leaders during APEC. In his remarks, the President shared his vision to further people to people exchanges between China and the United States, and his intention to bring China’s Panda Diplomacy program back to the United States.  

In February, Mayor Breed sent a letter to President Xi Jinping along with over 70 local Chinese and API community and merchant leaders to advocate for San Francisco to receive pandas, and to highlight the opportunity to build a stronger, lasting relationship between China and San Francisco.  

San Francisco had pandas at the Zoo most recently on temporary visits in 1984 and 1985. In 1984, two pandas named Yun-Yun and Ying-Xin visited the zoo for three months as part of the 1984 Summer Olympics tour, and drew more than 260,000 visitors to the San Francisco Zoo, roughly four times the average attendance during the time. The pandas visited the San Francisco Zoo again in 1985 for three months.  

Having Giant Pandas semi-permanently will be of significant importance to San Francisco’s local Chinese and API communities, as well as the City’s economic and tourism efforts as a major boost to San Francisco’s attractions and offerings. 

The timeline for the arrival of the pandas will be set by the completion of a panda enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo. Preliminary planning for that work has already begun as part of the City’s advocacy to welcome pandas to San Francisco. This week in San Francisco, engineers from the Beijing Zoo traveled to San Francisco to meet with San Francisco Zoo engineers to collaborate on Giant Panda enclosures as preparation work continues.  

In May, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association will send a delegation from Beijing to San Francisco to further engage on timeline, next steps and the buildout for the enclosures to accommodate the Giant Pandas.