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Mayor Cheng: Integrated the strengths of the government and private industries

Release date:2016-08-26

Mayor Cheng: Integrated the strengths of the government and private industries to capitalize on Taoyuan’s advantages to actively setup the Smart City program

In the talk titled “Vision of the Taoyuan Smart City Program during the Asia Silicon Valley & Smart Taoyuan” with White House Office of Science and Technology Policy advisor for innovation Alec Ross in the afternoon of August 3rd 2016, Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-Tsan mentioned that Taoyuan offers the Smart City program with 4 major benefits of a great geographical location, accessible transportation, large population, and good industrial base as well as a decisive advantage in the IoT sector. All of these could become part of the Asia Silicon Valley Project, achieving effective integration of the strengths of the government and private enterprises and facilitating the success Smart City project and development.

To promote industrial development and the Smart City program, Mayor Cheng described that Taoyuan has 4 major advantages: First, Taoyuan is part of Taiwan’s important high tech corridor and located very close to the political and economic centers in Taipei. Taoyuan is not only part of the capital circle, but also the greater Taipei-New Taipei-Taoyuan region. Taoyuan is also home to an international airport, making it the official gateway of Taiwan. Taoyuan International Airport has an extremely advantageous location as travelers could get to major cities in Asia by taking flights that last 3 hours or less.

The second advantage was accessible transportation marked by the dual port effect as Taoyuan is close to the Port of Taipei and is home to Taiwan’s largest international airport. The Airport Access MRT is currently undergoing trials. With a total length of 51 km, this is the longest metro system in Taiwan, connecting the 3 municipalities of Taipei, New Taipei, and Taoyuan. Trips between Taipei and the Airport will only require 35 to 40 minutes.

The third advantage would be Taoyuan’s population. Despite dwindling birth rates in Taiwan, Taoyuan demonstrated the opposite trend and achieved a population growth of 30,000 to 40,000 individuals per year. The City is now home to 2.12 million people and an average age of 37 years, making it a relatively young city in terms of demographics. There are also 16 colleges and universities in Taoyuan. 70.9% of Taoyuan’s residents have undergone tertiary education, while labor participation rate was 59%.
The fourth advantage would be Taoyuan’s industrial basis. The City currently has a total of 29 industrial zones that include traditional manufacturing and high-tech industries planned by the government and the private enterprises. The industrial sector has generated an output of NT$ 3.2 trillion, leading the entire country for 13 consecutive years. Taoyuan’s industrial base is also extremely diverse, with comprehensive clusters in IoT, mechanical production, electronic parts and components, chemical industry, textiles, biotechnology, food, and automotive products as well as over 1,700 logistic companies.

Mayor Cheng pointed out that the election campaign white paper of the new Taoyuan administration included the encouragement of industrial innovation in Taiwan by using the creative spirit of the Silicon Valley. Though the development of the Asia Silicon Valley Project is not restricted to Taoyuan, the City is capable of serving as a base to actively promote professional exchange and build connections between industries. Current focuses of the Taoyuan City Government include: establishing the Asia Exchange Center for Creative R&D Professionals and an Aerotropolis World Trade Center at Qingpu Special District, integrating foreign language training centers for professionals in various colleges, and developing the Youshih International Start-up Village at the Youshih Industrial Park. The aim would be to integrate various creative industries and startups to transform Taoyuan into the locomotive powering the next stage of industrial development.

Mayor Cheng mentioned that an objective of the Aerotropolis project is to expand operational capacities of the international airport. Terminal 3, Runway 3, and the free trade zone would be part of this project. Active measures were also taken to develop industries related to the airport, including aerospace, logistics, maintenance and repairs, and creative industries. Public hearings have been completed for the Aerotropolis project, allowing both supporters and the opposition to clearly and comprehensively voice their opinions. Results have been handed to the central government for review after completing the crucial democratic procedures.

Mayor Cheng said that cities around Taiwan are promoting the Smart City concept. Unique focuses of the Smart City project in Taoyuan include surveillance systems, water level monitoring systems, and Smart fire-fighting systems. For surveillance systems, the city government has established an Environment Monitoring Center and 6 monitoring systems. Major incidents of river pollution will be immediately escalated to the control center and compared against the system database to dispatch auditors and inspection vehicles. The auditing team will be able to acquire data at the point of pollution to immediately determine and handle the sources of pollution.
As for the water level monitoring system, Mayor Cheng mentioned that during the flooding incident of the Taoyuan International Airport, the Taoyuan City Government made use of the water level monitoring APP to rapidly acquire information regarding the water levels of Puxin River and precipitation, and correctly determined that the flooding was caused by improper human management and airport drainage issues to quickly identify the true causes behind airport flooding.

For Smart fire-fighting systems, Mayor Cheng said that when fires break out, the system is able to quickly establish a connection with the database in order to bring out the building’s usage license, location of fire hydrants, street views, and other relevant information. Fire fighters in factories can also quickly connect to the toxic chemical substance database to handle the incident using the quickest and most appropriate strategy available. Relevant APP can also be established so that residents in areas around the Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC) refinery could check pollution indicators surrounding the plant, improving the level of public security.

Mayor Cheng mentioned other projects of the Taoyuan City Government to help residents enjoy the conveniences offered by a Smart City, such as provision of Wi-Fi at the Airport Access MRT and metro stations, promotion of the electric scooter program, installation of solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftops of schools, establishment of floating solar power generation systems in Taoyuan''s many ponds and lakes, and setting up of wind power systems.

Mayor Cheng also mentioned his experiences of leading the Taoyuan City Government delegate during Smart City exchange tours in the Netherlands, the UK, and France. He expressed that European pursuit of innovation has achieved levels far greater than people have imagined, and these governments have also released numerous energy policies. European countries are also less afraid of investment failures. Although startups and innovations come with inherent risks, they did not regard success rate as an indicator. Instead, they focused upon the promotion of industrial development in order to encourage startups and creative businesses to head off to new and unexplored directions. Taiwan must not give up its advantages for advancing the IoT industry as its city of Taoyuan is the perfect place to develop the IoT industry. To achieve this objective, the Asia Silicon Valley and Industry 4.0 projects will effectively integrate the relevant industrial and government strengths.
Alec Ross, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy advisor for innovation, expressed that the world is undergoing rapid changes. The trend of digitalization is gaining increasing speed and momentum due to the rise of the IoT industry. In IoT, traditional devices such as household appliances could now be connected to the Internet to generate Big Data. Big Data analysis will allow small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited resources to ascend and become major companies.

Alec Ross also mentioned robotics as another world-changing trend in the horizon. Advancement of computational technologies has made robots more flexible in their movements. The introduction of cloud technology also greatly improved the convenience of data storage and sharing. Many intelligent robots that we see in movies will probably be created by 2020.

Mayor Cheng also discussed a number of topics that range from youth policies, urban development, Taoyuan development policies, and innovation programs. For youth policies, Mayor Cheng pointed out that Taoyuan is the best choice for young people looking to settle down due to its relatively cheaper housing prices. This is followed by Taoyuan’s diverse industries that have created plenty of employment opportunities. The third advantage would be youth-friendly policies released by the Taoyuan City Government that include a NT$ 30,000 reward for each child born to Taoyuan residents and NT$ 3,000 childcare subsidies for children under the age of 3 years. The city government also established many family centers and public daycare centers.

Many universities in Taoyuan have initiated programs that help undergraduates as well as graduate students to gain an early understanding of their relevant industries to reduce their fear of seeking employment. Business-academic partnership programs will also help students apply knowledge acquired in schools to their actual profession. The Department of Youth Affairs also established a youth entrepreneurship center in Zhongli that is furnished with meeting rooms, computers, 3D printers, and lot s of office equipment in order to reduce the barriers and burdens of youths trying to start their own businesses.

Mayor Cheng said that the service and logistics sectors of Taoyuan will play crucial roles when building the Asia Silicon Valley. Taoyuan’s industries were mainly dominated by manufacturing while its service sector is relatively under-developed. Taoyuan City Government will be establishing an environment to facilitate trade and commerce and incorporate the concepts of smart logistics to reduce transportation time and enhance logistics efficiency in order to transform Taoyuan into a world-class commerce and logistics center.
For urban development, the Aerotropolis project has adopted Smart City designs that include specialized industrial zones, free trade zones, as well as residential and commercial functions. To transform Taoyuan into a comprehensive futuristic metropolis, newer amenities and expansions will be initiated in the future, including cultural and creative industries, shopping centers, and theme parks in a number of zones.

For creative projects, Mayor Cheng believed that successful innovation require open mindsets at the urban and national levels so that more professionals, technologies, or capital are able to enter the Taiwan. The government has made little progress when it comes to introducing management professionals or senior technicians, or creating a friendly environment for expatriates to live in. This has put off many potential professionals. Although the Asia Silicon Valley project includes the establishment of an International Hostel, it is far from being the solution for the provision of residential and living spaces for foreign personnel.

Mayor Cheng proposed that Taiwan must release a comprehensive set of policies capable of attracting professionals to improve Taiwan’s competitiveness. Taiwan may not be able to replicate the Silicon Valley, but innovation itself is a learning and rebuilding process. It is important for Taiwan to identify its unique features and transform creative concepts into actual results. Once the NDC finalizes the Asia Silicon Valley Project, the government must strengthen dialogs with universities and industries to gain a clear understanding of their respective needs and initiate mutual support. This includes establishing startup incubators, loosening of legal restrictions, and creating industrial alliances for IoT, Industry 4.0, and smart technologies.Resources of the academia can be introduced to reduce the astronomical costs of innovations, research, and development to make R&D ambitions more approachable and less costly.
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