We’re here in Taipei, Taiwan for the Smart City Summit & Expo (SCSE) and we attended the Global Press Conference this morning – and there were a total of 5 key people on stage to talk about how SCSE helped them in their own state. Yes, mayors of states from across the globe attended SCSE – and all them are recurring visitors.
All the 5 people (from left to right) are:
- Mr. Vitezslav Schrek – President, Vysočina Region, Czech Republic
- Mr. Charles Lin – Deputy Mayor, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
- Mr. Jason Chen – Chairman, Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance
- Mr. Marc Elrich – County Executive, Montgomery County, MD, US
- Mr. David Golding – Head of Global Innovation Partnerships, Innovate UK
Each key person was given a set of actually good questions that were prepared by the host. The answers given will be paraphrased.
Mr. Jason Chen
Q: As the chairman of the Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance, and the chairman of Acer Group, and also the organizer of SCSE, could you please explain the significance of SCSE for global cities? Additionally, what does it mean for the long-established computer company Acer Group?
A: This is our 11th year doing SCSE, and there are always new things to see every year. For this year, AI is going to be the focus, and also will be focusing on ESG too. That is because 2024 SCSE is also emphasizing the target to reach net zero – as in 100% carbon neutrality – by the year 2050.
Mr. Charles Lin, Deputy Mayor, Kaohsiung City Government, Taiwan
Q: Having previously served as Deputy Mayor of Taipei City and now as Deputy Mayor of Kaohsiung City, you have been actively promoting the development of smart cities and supporting the organization of SCSE in both Taipei and Kaohsiung. Can you share with the media, based on your experience, what is the greatest benefit that promoting smart cities can bring to urban development? How should global cities leverage the SCSE platform?
A: SCSE is a platform to showcase the smart city solutions that we have, and even though people know Taiwan as a city that manufactures high-end semiconductor hardware, Taiwan’s software solutions are also magnificent.
Governments play a major role into incorporating the smart city features into the infrastructure to provide a better living experience to the people.
Mr. Marc Elrich, County Executive, Montgomery County, Maryland, US & Mr. Vitezslav Schrek, President, Vysočina Region, Czech Republic
Q: The County Executive of Montgomery County, Maryland, and the Governor of the Vysočina Region in the Czech Republic have personally visited SCSE two or more times. Could you explain what aspects of SCSE have left a lasting impression on you? How can cities worldwide collaborate to develop smart cities?
A from Mr Elrich: We did set a goal of getting into Net Zero by 2035 but everyone said “there is no way you’re doing that and we do not have a path to get there”, I believe that because I like to read science publications.
Now, we’re evolving pretty rapidly and developing things that didn’t exist a few years ago. Once we expanded our horizons, I saw technologies that were based on ideas only, but it’s now a reality.
Governments also play a major role because we control the lobby, the building codes, and also zoning codes – and if we can model something on the government building code to enforce the usage of solar panels on walls or any kind of hydrogen conversion that can be done economically.
Once we (Montgomery County) have proven that it works, we can show other states that it works and they can start implementing too.
A from Mr. Schrek: The cooperation between Czech and Taiwan has been going on for several years now, and our duty in our region is in public services. We are always looking for new approaches, new methods, to solve common issues like healthcare and traffic – and this expo can provide some possibility to solve these issues.
Mr. David Golding, Head of Global Innovation Partnerships, Innovate UK
Q: Innovate UK has led numerous UK startups to participate in the exhibition. Can you explain the role of startups in advancing smart city initiatives? How can you utilize SCSE to connect the efforts of startup organizations from various countries?
A: We’re helping companies to grow and be on the global stage. What we say from Innovate UK is that when a challenge arises, we can’t do it alone. We have to collaborate. We’re really into partnerships, and we signed an MOU with Taiwan in the department of industrial technology.
There are a lot of new technologies and ideas coming from startups, and we brought eight of them to Taiwan to showcase the ideas in SCSE.
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