NEWPORT is recognised as a city in Beijing, so why not in our own country? That is the question being asked by Councillor Jim Kirkwood, the man behind the recent youth exchange between China and Newport.
The Caerleon ward councillor is backing Newport's bid to be awarded city status to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee next year.
Councillor Kirkwood said that when he visited China in September last year to help organise the exchange, he took part in the China International Friendship Cities Conference 2000.
He was given a pass at the conference bearing his name and the words: 'Newport City; UK'.
"If Beijing recognises Newport as a city, the Queen should recognise it too," he said. "We met a lot of people from around the world and everyone accepted us as representing the city of Newport."
The exchange finally came to fruition last week when 16 students from the Guangxi region arrived in Newport to stay with pupils from the town's secondary schools.
*PICTURED: From left, Peter Chonka, 16, from Newport, with Jo Zhang, 16, and Basin King, 17, from Guangxi, look the part as Romans
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