SAN FRANCISCO—The Taipei City government donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to its American sister city San Francisco, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said on Sunday, August 23. Taipei is a city in Taiwan.

Ko Wen-je expressed his pleasure for the donation of personal protective equipment, including 100,000 masks, 12,000 protective suits, 50,000 pairs of protective shoes and 500 protective masks sent from Taipei City to San Francisco, in a FaceBook post. Taipei also provided a translation of Taipei’s anti-epidemic book and anti-epidemic hotels into English. San Francisco Mayor London Breed officially received the donation on August 18.

In early June, Ko Wen-je asked the Director of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Taizhu Zhou, to assist in fundraising efforts when he heard that San Francisco was facing a serious shortage of medical supplies. Personal protective supplies must be verified before they can leave the country during this pandemic, and Ambassador Chou and Taipei City’s International Affairs team worked hard to deliver the supplies to San Francisco, said Ko Wen-je.

In a Facebook post, he expressed his gratitude for the help received from organizations including the United Medical Foundation, Medela Medical, Sheng Hong Pharmaceutical, and Jade Mountain Technology Association.

Taipei and San Francisco became sister cities in 1969. “The Chinese pavilion located at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park is a gift to the citizens of San Francisco from the City of Taipei,” according to the city’s website.