Reports on Monitoring Visits
- Tianjin, China, on 20 October 2003

An AUICK delegation, comprised of Mr. Kazutoshi Sasayama, Chairman, Mr. Masayuki Ishitsubo, Executive Director, and Mr. Nobuyuki Morimoto, Manager, visited Tianjin City from 19 to 21 October 2003.  In the afternoon of 20 October, they had a monitoring meeting with six Tianjin City officials who were the past participants of AUICK's training courses.

This visit was particularly significant as it was not only the first monitoring meeting in Tianjin but also the first in China.  Since AUICK started the training programs in 1994, it has invited 18 senior officials from 10 cities in China, including eight Tianjin City officials.

AUICK’s visit to Tianjin also coincided with the celebration of the 30th anniversary of a Friendship-City agreement between Kobe and Tianjin. To commemorate this anniversary, several special events were held in Tianjin on 19 and 20 October in which the AUICK delegation was invited to participate in recognition of its contribution to the promotion of friendship between the cities.  Mr. Sasayama, in particular, has been a continuously active and strong supporter of the friendship between Tianjin and Kobe over the last 30 years, especially during his tenure as the Mayor of Kobe.  Tianjin has recognized Mr. Sasayama’s contribution to the strengthening of ties between the two cities by naming him an honorary citizen of Tianjin.

Mr. Sasayama opened the meeting with a brief greeting and explanation of its aims.  He hoped that the past participants would share their knowledge and experiences to strengthen the intersectoral linkage across the different fields which they each represented, which include health care, housing, environmental management, water supply, and welfare for the aged.  He concluded his opening remarks by wishing for hte continued friendship between Tianjin and Kobe.

During the remainder of the meeting the AUICK delegation learned from the participants as they presented their thoughts on the current situation of their city, and outlined how they had implemented the knowledge, experiencecs and skills gained through AUICK training.

Comments from the past participants

Ms. Wang Xiuduo, Deputy Chief Engineer, Tianjin Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute, was a participant in the Seminar on Public Utilities in Asian Cities in 2000.  She was then and remains in charge of design and research on water supply and drainage facilities.  Ms. Wang Xiuduo has designed many sewage treatment plants and she has also been involved in establishing the national rechnical standards for water operable agitators, drainage pumps for contaminators operable in water and arc grilles.
"For future seminars, I suggest that participants discuss the latest sewage treatment technology, including dephosphorisation and denitrification, and also technology and facilities for sludge treatment and garbage treatment.  I think site visits to a newly constructed sewage treatment plant, preferably one equipped with the SBR system would be very useful."
Mr. Chen Zilin, Deputy Chief Engineer, Tianjin Environment Protection Bureau, was a participant in the 2001 Seminor on Solid Waste Management. At that time his job responsibilities included solid waste pollution control and management, urban noise and electronic radiation management.

"Tianjin has to decide whether it should reuse or dispose of industrial waste which has been accumulated and stored fo rmany years.  We are now considering several measures to deal with this problem."

"Upon my return form the AUICK training, I became involved in a plan to protect against pollution produced by solid waste in Tianjin.  I drafted provisions regarding the management of urban household waste.  For this project the informantion I received from AUICK on regulations for controlling urban waste, the advanced treatment facilities and the public environmental awareness in Japan all served as a very useful reference."

"I suggest that the future length of AUICK training programs should be decided based on contents and targeted participants.  Generally, the best length for engineers amy be more than one month, while one month may be adequate for administrative officials.  The venue should be changed so that training is held in various countries that face challenges related to the theme of training programs, which would allow participants to study problems and best practices firsthand.  Themes to be discussed could be environmental protection, management of industrial solid waste, hazardous and household waste, reduction of noise (especially traffic noise), protection of water resources, sludge treatment of urban sewage facilities and so on."

Ms. Dong Ling, Vice Head, Tianjin Woman Health Institute, Health Care Unit, was a participant in the 1999 AUICK Seminar on Primary Health Care and Reproductive Health.  At that time her responsibilities within the Tianjin City Government included constructing a health care system for pregnant women, organizing meetings and symposiums on prenatal medical  care and prividing technical advice to policy makers.

Ms. Dong indicated that she was interested in developing a reproductive health care system for women, and has stated that she would like to learn how such services are provided in developed countries through a future AUICK training course.

"One issue relating to reproductive health in Tianjin is the declining birth rate, which is related to the problem of population ageing.  Care for the aged will become a serious issue in the near future.  The city also faces a lack of integrated health care for pregnant women.  Furthermore, the exisiting medical insurance system is outdated and needs to be revitalized."

"Reducing maternal and infant mortality will require a great deal of time before real and lasting changes can be seen, and I believe that achieving sustainable improvements will depend largely on upgrading the existing medical care services. The budget allocation for mother and child health care is inadequate, and knowledge of healthcare providers should be increased and updated."

Mr. Hou Qingchang, Deputy Director, Tianjin Municipal Research Institute for Family Planning (TMRIFP), participated in the Study Course on ICPD and Health Care held in Singapore in 1998.

Mr. Hou is in charge of research study projects conducted by the TMRIFP, which was established jointly with the WHO to conduct research studies on human reproduction. The Institute promotes epidemiological and socio-scientific studies on family planning and reproductive health, and a clinic adjoining the Institute offers reproductive health care service. He is interested in the diagnosis, protection and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. In future AUICK training sessions he would like to study the influences of sexually transmitted diseases on mothers and newborn babies.

"In China, family planning is a fundamental national policy and reproductive health has an important priority. In Tianjin the current prevalence rate of reproductive tract infection is quite high at about 30%, and such infections interfere with not only health and wellbeing, but also with contraceptive methods."

"During the AUICK training course, I obtained useful information on population and health care from different countries in Asia.  On my return to Tianjin, I had a meeting with my superiors at which I reported the useful information that I learned during the training course. In regard to future AUICK training courses, I suggest that the following fields, which are of interest to the Tianjin city administration: generating employment, particularly for university graduates, environmental preservation, water supply, waste treatment, health, transportation, social welfare, education and improving the residential environment."

Dr. Zou Ming Yu, Honorary President, Tianjin Senior Citizen’s Home, was a participant in the 2002 Seminar on Population Ageing and Administrative Countermeasures for the Aged. At that time she was a president of the Tianjin Senior Citizen’s Home, which is a social welfare facility equipped with 300 beds under the jurisdiction of the Public Welfare Bureau. The home provides nursing care, medical care, rehabilitation and education services for the aged. She retired from her position of president, but still has an active role in promoting welfare for the elderly.

At the AUICK seminar, she learned about Japan’s experiences and advanced administrative measures relating to welfare for the aged. She was impressed at how responsible and motivated the Japanese caregivers are. She also learned that Japan’s administration and citizens both have great concerns about population ageing issues, and are making strong efforts to prepare facilities for the aged.

"After the seminar, I established a training center for caregivers and have been training them. With the cooperation of the local residents, I also started several welfare services such as heath care and meal delivery for the aged. To promote education for the aged, I established a college for seniors using the Citizen’s Home, which offers courses on health, sanitation and psychology."

Editor’s Note: Ms. Yang Jienan, Director, Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau, initially planned to attend the monitoring meeting. But due to her urgent business, Ms. Ma Li (Ms. Yang’s staff member) attend the meeting as her proxy.  Therefore, the Kobe delegation could not interview Ms. Yang Jienan herself.