Asia Silicon Valley X Smart Taoyuan Exchange Tour with the Netherlands, France, and the UK

Mayor Cheng: The Taoyuan delegate tour Europe from June 21st to July 2nd to support exchange and dialog with Dutch, French, and British cities

Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-Tsan would be leading a Taoyuan City Government delegate for the “2016 Taoyuan City Government Asia Silicon Valley X Smart Taoyuan - Exchange Tour with the Netherlands, France, and the UK” on June 21st. During the press conference held at the Taoyuan International Airport departure hall, Mayor Cheng expressed that the city government shall observe and learn from the successes of developed countries to push onwards with the Taoyuan Smart City Project, and would be visiting the Netherlands, France, and the UK from June 21st to July 2nd. Key focuses of this 12-day trip include strategies for achieving harmonious developments between cities and neighboring airports, Smart city development, experiences in promoting social housing, and the use of mass rapid transit (MRT) systems to promote urban efficiencies in various European cities. Mayor Cheng will also be receiving an exclusive interview with BBC and give a talk at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London to promote Taiwan''s international visibility and voice.

Mayor Cheng then described the agenda of the tour. The 1st stop of the Taoyuan City Government delegate would be Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at the Netherlands. The Schiphol Area Development Company (SADC) is similar to Taoyuan Airport Corporation and Taoyuan Aerotropolis Co., Ltd. SADC has adopted the concept of circular economy in order to improve greenness of the entire airport. The delegates attempt to learn from the operational experiences of the Schiphol airport city. Taoyuan is also carrying out the social housing project in order to achieve residential justice, and the new government of Taiwan is keen on supporting the construction of more social housing as well. As high as 40% of residences in the Netherlands are social housing, so it would be meaningful for the delegate to study the experiences, operations, and management of social housing in the European country. A visit to the WoZoCo senior housing was also arranged to help the delegates understand social housing planning processes in the Netherlands, the means of fulfilling different social requirements, and management approaches that meet the principles of efficiency and social justice.

The 2nd station of the Europe Tour would be France. The delegates shall visit the city of Grenoble which is a center of high tech industries not unlike Taoyuan and has extensive experiences in managing a smart city. Grenoble and Taoyuan will be signing a “Taiwan-France Agreement for the Implementation of the Asia Silicon Valley Project,” and Mayor Cheng has made plans to invite the Mayor of Grenoble to visit Taiwan as well.

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The final station of the Europe Tour is the city of London in the UK, a country which has plenty of experiences in using technology to power innovation. The Taoyuan City Government delegate shall visit the Second Home creative accelerator, the new Tate Modern art museum, and Cisco London creative center. Mayor Cheng would also be giving a speech at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London (SOAS) at the University of London and visit Dr. Dafydd Fell of the Taiwan Studies Center whose wife is also Taiwanese. The aim of this visit is to help more people learn about Taiwan. Taoyuan also has the largest immigrant population in Taiwan with nearly 100,000 foreign laborers. The British media is very interested in issues regarding immigrants, and Mayor Cheng would be receiving an interview from the British TV channel BBC to talk about his policies on foreign laborers.

Mayor Cheng also mentioned the extremely advanced Smart traffic systems adopted by Europe and his wish to acquire experiences in Smart transport. Few Taoyuan delegates have ever visited or conducted city-level diplomacy with Europe. This Europe Tour would be extremely meaningful as it allows Taoyuan to establish sister city or friendly city relationships while extending invitations to other city delegates to visit Taoyuan.

Director-General Chang Tun-Han of the Department of Public Information listed the members of the delegate going on the “2016 Asia Silicon Valley X Smart Taoyuan - Exchange Tour with the Netherlands, France, and the UK” from June 21st to July 2nd. Taoyuan City Government Secretary-General Li Hsien-ming, Deputy Secretary-General Chiu Chun-Ming, Director-General Chu Sung-Wei of the Department of Economic Development, Director-General Kao Pang-Chi of the Department of Transportation, Director-General Shen Chih-Hsiu of the Department of Environmental Protection, Director-General Yang Sheng-ping of the Department of Tourism, Director-General Chuang Hsiu-Mei of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Director-General Chang Chih-Yuan of the Department of General Affairs, and Chairperson Liu Kun-i of the Research and Evaluation Commission, Chairperson Chen Ching-Hang of the Industrial Development & Investment Promotion Committee (IDIPC), Vice President Hsieh Huai-Hui of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis Co., Ltd, and Chief Secretary Yen Tzu-Chieh of Department of Public Information.

Director-General Chang pointed out that the agenda of the delegates would be extremely full. On June 22nd and 23rd, the delegates would be visiting a number of Dutch cities, namely Amsterdam and Hoofddorp, followed by a visit to the SADC and the World Trade Center to look at a few presentations. The delegates would then head off to the Dutch Smart City creative office, WoZoCo housing for senior citizens, and Park 20/20 circular economy incubation center.

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From June 24th to 28th, the delegates would visit the French cities of Lyon, Grenoble, Paris, and the province of Champagne where Mayor Cheng would sign a “Taiwan-France Agreement for the Implementation of the Asia Silicon Valley Project” with French representatives .The delegates would participate in the Tenerrdis Competitive Cluster tendering dinner party, hold talks with Smart City concept service providers, and join a conference with the Town Planning Agency for Paris (Atelier Parisien d’urbanisme, or APUR). The delegates will then visit the Plumecoq experimental vineyard in Champagne to learn about the local wine industry. In Paris, the delegates would visit Parisian buildings, Systra Development Planning & Traffic Engineering Business, and the newly constructed eco-park close to the Paris Palais de Justice.

Director-General Chang also listed celebrities that the delegates have planned to meet during the tour, including Mayor Theo Weterings of Haarlemmermeer of the Netherlands, Member of the European Parliament Hans Van Baalen, President Christophe Ferrari of Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, Mayor Franck Leroy of Épernay Pays de Champagne, and Deputy Mayor Christophe Najdovski in charge of traffic and public areas of Paris. The delegates would also meet with Lord Faulkner of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group and other British officials. It is believed that such meetings could improve Taoyuan''s international visibility and acquire added support from overseas friends.