美两华裔市长受邀参加白宫国宴

美国加利福尼亚州奥克兰市新上任的华裔女市长关丽珍(Jean Quan)获邀出席白宫计划为中国国家主席胡锦涛举行的访美国宴。一同前往白宫赴宴的还有其好友、旧金山华裔市长李孟贤(Edwin Lee)。关丽珍祖籍广东开平，于1月3日在奥克兰市福克斯剧院宣誓就任该市第49任市长，她是这座城市158年来首位亚裔及华裔女市长。祖籍广东台山的李孟贤于1月7日在旧金山市议会以绝大多数票赞成，被推选为代市长；并于11日得到新一届市参事会确认，成为旧金山市首位华裔市长。两人在上世纪60年代同为加州大学伯克利分校的同学，美国媒体称这二位为美国最杰出的华裔市长。

Two Chinese-American mayors from California have been invited to a lavish banquet at the White House to honor President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee will attend the state dinner, the first staged for a Chinese leader in 13 years, alongside United States President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

Both Quan and Lee made history by becoming their respective cities' first Asian-American mayors and, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle this week, are "the most prominent Chinese-American mayors in the country".

The 61-year-old Quan, a Democrat and Oakland's first female mayor, told reporters that she felt honored by the invitation.

Her husband, Dr Floyd Huen, will not attend due to work commitments, she said.

In her inauguration speech this month, she said her great-grandfather came to the US 104 years ago from his hometown in Kaiping, Guangdong province. Her generation was the first of its family to be born in the US.

Quan said she was aware her Chinese ethnicity would interest the media and hopes to use the coverage to promote Oakland and attract investment from China.

Lee, whose friendship with Quan dates back to the 1960s when they were classmates at the University of California, Berkeley, was sworn in on Jan 11 and received his invitation to the White House two days later.

A descendent of Taishan in Guangdong province, he was born in Seattle, in the state of Washington. He is married and has two daughters.

The mayors will travel together to Washington DC, the Chronicle reported.