The stedenband (twin town agreement) that Maastricht has with Chengdu in China is coming to an end. Political party  VVD's proposal to end it can count on a majority in the raad (council) even before its submission.

Co-submitters

Partij voor de Dieren, D66, SP, Liberale Partij Maastricht, PVV, Partij Veillig Maastricht, SAB, Volt and M:OED co-sponsored the proposal with the VVD. This already puts 20 of the 39 members in agreement with the proposal. "I expect more parties to follow," said VVD party chairman Guiseppe Noteborn on Friday on talk show Maastricht Belicht.

Motivation

VVD wants to get rid of the twin town agreement, which has existed since 2012, because it provides little to nothing for Maastricht. In addition, the party has moral objections: in China, human rights are not taken very seriously, according to the VVD. Maastricht should therefore not cooperate with a city from that country.

Partij voor de Dieren

The VDD thus finds Partij voor de Dieren on its side, among others. Especially the violation of human rights is an issue for that party: "I think it would be a good signal to China if we say we no longer want a city tie with Chengdu because of this," raadslid (councillor) Ria Strik told RTV Maastricht.

The proposal will be officially voted on during the raadsvergadering (council meeting) on 27 June.

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