Tainan City Deputy Mayor Shares Smart City Developments at ICF Global Summit London 2018
Posted Date:2018-06-25
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Introduce
ICF Co-Founder and Chair John G. Jung and Tainan City Deputy Mayor Michael C.Y. Chang took part in the Top7 Conversations session scheduled in the afternoon of June 5 at the ICF Global Summit London 2018. Jung praised former Mayor William Lai's vision and said that he is impressed by Tainan City's progress in becoming a smart city. Deputy Mayor Chang gave a briefing on Tainan's smart city development process and highlights under the theme "Leveraging Technology to Transform Our Cultural Capital". Jung remarked that Tainan is "a hidden gem" to which Chang replied that Tainan is one of the most precious gems of all and hopefully through the ICF Global Summit, Tainan can have more interactions and connections with the world and shine brighter in the international arena.
At the beginning of the session, they showed a video clip introducing Tainan as a smart city which resonated well with the audience. Then Jung started the conversation by introducing Tainan and shared that he had visited this "Hidden Gem" three times and was warmly welcomed by the then-mayor William Lai. Jung was impressed by Lai's smart city plans and vision, and said he was not surprised that Lai later moved on to serve as Taiwan's Premier. Jung recalled the places he visited in Tainan: the science park, the creative and energetic environments such as National Cheng Kung University and Haidong Elementary School. He added that in addition to having a rich and diverse local culture, Tainan's orchid industry and New Farmers Project were superb as well.
Jung later jokingly complained that Tainan has rich recourses, fascinating and unique harbors, historical architecture and sights, why does no one know about the city? Chang supported the "Hidden Gem" description for Tainan with a smile and remarked that Tainan, the cultural capital of Taiwan, is well-known for its culture, delicacies, and tourism. Tainan is also an important industrial city in Taiwan, for example, TSMC and other major high-tech industries are all based in Tainan.
Jung reminisced about his Chimei Museum visit when he was in Tainan. He tested out a very expensive violin; however, being not very skilled with the instrument, he sounded terrible. Jung said he was moved by the fact that the museum lends these famous violins for free to violinists competing abroad. Therefore he often encourages friends to visit Chimei Museum when they come to Tainan. Jung also asked how Tainan utilizes smart technologies in tourism to help visitors access travel related information and services. Eugene Hsiao, Assistant Vice President of Far Eastern Resource Development Company and Tainan City delegate member, replied that Tainan has set up 23,000 beacons which make up a complete platform for apps to interact with visitors through the beacons and provide real-time travel information. Tainan City Hall alone has 900 beacons installed so when residents come to the city hall for business, they can easily locate the different offices or counters they need to go to. Furthermore, the API is also open to public users. The experience and data accumulated through continuous testing and experimenting can be used in more areas to serve the citizens.
Jung remarked that Tainan has gone through earthquakes, avian flu and dengue fever epidemics, yet the city managed to recover from the three major crises and gained much experience which could be leveraged to overcome similar crises in the future. Deputy Mayor Chang responded that the 2015 dengue fever epidemic saw the highest death rate in history. As a result, Tainan City immediately set up the Tainan City Dengue Fever Prevention Control Center, released data including disease prevention maps, pesticide spraying maps, and other data related to disease prevention. The data collected during the epidemic has been used in disease prevention strategies since 2016 and has successfully brought down the death rate to below double digits. Hsiao then introduced the smart mosquito zapper system, which was developed in Tainan, and how the device uses technology to predict the species of mosquitoes and possible numbers to control the epidemic.
Upon hearing Tainan's experience with the February 6th Earthquake, the Mexican representative raised a question: Mexico has also experienced massive earthquakes, and the biggest challenge rescue teams face afterwards is the underground pipelines. It is very time-consuming to obtain data related to all pipelines, and sometimes they have difficulty identifying the lines. What is Tainan's experience in this matter? Deputy Mayor Chang replied that Tainan's underground pipeline system is very complex since they are laid down and maintained by different companies responsible for gas, electricity, and water, respectively. However, after the gas explosion incident in Kaohsiung, Tainan City made public all underground pipeline graphics, data, and maps. The open data was very helpful to February 6th Earthquake rescue teams.
After the session Deputy Mayor Chang presented Tainan's specialties and map (English version) to the three chairpersons (Robert Bell, John Jung, and Louis Zacharilla). Zacharilla led the chant "Taiwan No. 1" which garnered cheers from the room. Chang followed up with "Tainan is the best of the best", bringing cheers from the audience again.
After the dialogue, ICF Co-Founder Louis Zacharilla introduced the representatives from the three Top 7 Taiwanese cities: Tainan, Chiayi, and Taoyuan, and the Industrial Technology Research Institute, Industrial Development Bureau, and Far Eastern Resource Development. He then invited Deputy Mayor Chang give some remarks and introduce the other two cities. Zacharilla also pointed out that through ICF Taiwan’s efforts, Taiwan’s smart city experiences are now being implemented in Ohio, US., which is moving into a post-industrial era, and hopefully they can see results soon.
Zacharilla expressed that he was very intrigued by Jung's Tainan experience and hopes that he has the opportunity to visit the city in the future. He asked the international audience who also wanted to visit Tainan and was met with enthusiastic response. He then invited Tainan City Government Tourism Bureau Director-General Wang Shi-si to introduce tourism in Tainan to the audience.
Wang started by inviting everyone to Tainan next month for the annual mango season. She insisted that they should all come enjoy the fruit and played a video clip to show Tainan's local culture, snacks, and tourist attractions. The audiences were tantalized. Zacharilla, an Italian whose country is famous for its delicacies, exclaimed that he must taste the mangoes in Tainan. The Tainan City Government then shared a local specialty pastry – pineapple cakes from Tieh Chin Kung Foods - with the audience.
In the morning the Tainan City delegation led by Deputy Mayor Chang visited Representative David Lin at the Taipei Representative Office in the UK. The delegation, along with members from Chiayi and Taoyuan, sat down to discuss Taiwan – UK relations with the Representative. Lin mentioned that the UK is also focused on smart city policies and promoting successful cases to the world; and in recent years, Taiwan and the UK has seen closer collaborations related to smart city policies. By learning from and helping each other, both cities aim to solve more public problems via smart city solutions.
Chang pointed out that Tainan has three industries that require assistance from the Taipei Representative Office in the UK: railway construction, smart city, and green energy technology, since UK has many leading technologies and experiences in these areas which Taiwan can benefit from. Representative Lin responded that currently there are many frequent exchanges between Taiwan and the UK. In addition to conversations in technology industries, the British also enjoy Taiwanese culture and arts, especially works that integrate art and technology. Taiwan artists are welcome to take part in art festivals in Edinburgh and Dublin to gain more exposure. At the end of the meeting, Deputy Mayor Chang presented a ceramic sword lion art piece to Representative Lin on behalf of Tainan to express good luck and blessings, and hope that the relationship between Taiwan and the UK will become even closer in the future.
Source of Information: Tainan City Government
At the beginning of the session, they showed a video clip introducing Tainan as a smart city which resonated well with the audience. Then Jung started the conversation by introducing Tainan and shared that he had visited this "Hidden Gem" three times and was warmly welcomed by the then-mayor William Lai. Jung was impressed by Lai's smart city plans and vision, and said he was not surprised that Lai later moved on to serve as Taiwan's Premier. Jung recalled the places he visited in Tainan: the science park, the creative and energetic environments such as National Cheng Kung University and Haidong Elementary School. He added that in addition to having a rich and diverse local culture, Tainan's orchid industry and New Farmers Project were superb as well.
Jung later jokingly complained that Tainan has rich recourses, fascinating and unique harbors, historical architecture and sights, why does no one know about the city? Chang supported the "Hidden Gem" description for Tainan with a smile and remarked that Tainan, the cultural capital of Taiwan, is well-known for its culture, delicacies, and tourism. Tainan is also an important industrial city in Taiwan, for example, TSMC and other major high-tech industries are all based in Tainan.
Jung reminisced about his Chimei Museum visit when he was in Tainan. He tested out a very expensive violin; however, being not very skilled with the instrument, he sounded terrible. Jung said he was moved by the fact that the museum lends these famous violins for free to violinists competing abroad. Therefore he often encourages friends to visit Chimei Museum when they come to Tainan. Jung also asked how Tainan utilizes smart technologies in tourism to help visitors access travel related information and services. Eugene Hsiao, Assistant Vice President of Far Eastern Resource Development Company and Tainan City delegate member, replied that Tainan has set up 23,000 beacons which make up a complete platform for apps to interact with visitors through the beacons and provide real-time travel information. Tainan City Hall alone has 900 beacons installed so when residents come to the city hall for business, they can easily locate the different offices or counters they need to go to. Furthermore, the API is also open to public users. The experience and data accumulated through continuous testing and experimenting can be used in more areas to serve the citizens.
Jung remarked that Tainan has gone through earthquakes, avian flu and dengue fever epidemics, yet the city managed to recover from the three major crises and gained much experience which could be leveraged to overcome similar crises in the future. Deputy Mayor Chang responded that the 2015 dengue fever epidemic saw the highest death rate in history. As a result, Tainan City immediately set up the Tainan City Dengue Fever Prevention Control Center, released data including disease prevention maps, pesticide spraying maps, and other data related to disease prevention. The data collected during the epidemic has been used in disease prevention strategies since 2016 and has successfully brought down the death rate to below double digits. Hsiao then introduced the smart mosquito zapper system, which was developed in Tainan, and how the device uses technology to predict the species of mosquitoes and possible numbers to control the epidemic.
Upon hearing Tainan's experience with the February 6th Earthquake, the Mexican representative raised a question: Mexico has also experienced massive earthquakes, and the biggest challenge rescue teams face afterwards is the underground pipelines. It is very time-consuming to obtain data related to all pipelines, and sometimes they have difficulty identifying the lines. What is Tainan's experience in this matter? Deputy Mayor Chang replied that Tainan's underground pipeline system is very complex since they are laid down and maintained by different companies responsible for gas, electricity, and water, respectively. However, after the gas explosion incident in Kaohsiung, Tainan City made public all underground pipeline graphics, data, and maps. The open data was very helpful to February 6th Earthquake rescue teams.
After the session Deputy Mayor Chang presented Tainan's specialties and map (English version) to the three chairpersons (Robert Bell, John Jung, and Louis Zacharilla). Zacharilla led the chant "Taiwan No. 1" which garnered cheers from the room. Chang followed up with "Tainan is the best of the best", bringing cheers from the audience again.
After the dialogue, ICF Co-Founder Louis Zacharilla introduced the representatives from the three Top 7 Taiwanese cities: Tainan, Chiayi, and Taoyuan, and the Industrial Technology Research Institute, Industrial Development Bureau, and Far Eastern Resource Development. He then invited Deputy Mayor Chang give some remarks and introduce the other two cities. Zacharilla also pointed out that through ICF Taiwan’s efforts, Taiwan’s smart city experiences are now being implemented in Ohio, US., which is moving into a post-industrial era, and hopefully they can see results soon.
Zacharilla expressed that he was very intrigued by Jung's Tainan experience and hopes that he has the opportunity to visit the city in the future. He asked the international audience who also wanted to visit Tainan and was met with enthusiastic response. He then invited Tainan City Government Tourism Bureau Director-General Wang Shi-si to introduce tourism in Tainan to the audience.
Wang started by inviting everyone to Tainan next month for the annual mango season. She insisted that they should all come enjoy the fruit and played a video clip to show Tainan's local culture, snacks, and tourist attractions. The audiences were tantalized. Zacharilla, an Italian whose country is famous for its delicacies, exclaimed that he must taste the mangoes in Tainan. The Tainan City Government then shared a local specialty pastry – pineapple cakes from Tieh Chin Kung Foods - with the audience.
In the morning the Tainan City delegation led by Deputy Mayor Chang visited Representative David Lin at the Taipei Representative Office in the UK. The delegation, along with members from Chiayi and Taoyuan, sat down to discuss Taiwan – UK relations with the Representative. Lin mentioned that the UK is also focused on smart city policies and promoting successful cases to the world; and in recent years, Taiwan and the UK has seen closer collaborations related to smart city policies. By learning from and helping each other, both cities aim to solve more public problems via smart city solutions.
Chang pointed out that Tainan has three industries that require assistance from the Taipei Representative Office in the UK: railway construction, smart city, and green energy technology, since UK has many leading technologies and experiences in these areas which Taiwan can benefit from. Representative Lin responded that currently there are many frequent exchanges between Taiwan and the UK. In addition to conversations in technology industries, the British also enjoy Taiwanese culture and arts, especially works that integrate art and technology. Taiwan artists are welcome to take part in art festivals in Edinburgh and Dublin to gain more exposure. At the end of the meeting, Deputy Mayor Chang presented a ceramic sword lion art piece to Representative Lin on behalf of Tainan to express good luck and blessings, and hope that the relationship between Taiwan and the UK will become even closer in the future.
Source of Information: Tainan City Government
