Taipei City Mayor Attends Neihu Technology Park End-of-the-year Banquet
At the invitation of the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association, Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the end-of-the-year banquet organized by the group in the evening of January 13. During his address, he pointed out that the association is a great model for public-private-collaboration. In addition to thanking Chairperson Weng Su-hui for supporting city hall during her term, he also believes that the strong partnership will continue under the leadership of the new Chairperson Liao Chuan-ping. The mayor pointed out that Neihu Technology Park is an important base for Taipei’s ICT industry. However, metabolism is natural for all industries, and that is why the city government has been busily setting up startup and innovation hubs across the technology park, such as Tesla’s EIS Center, Audi NEXT, and the recently-opened t.Hub. Citing the case of t.Hub, the mayor described the new facility as equivalent to relocating the Industrial Technology Research Institute from Zhudong Township in Hsinchu to Taipei. Arguably the largest innovative center on the island, the project took only 39 months to complete after the signing of the contract. He hopes that the innovation centers will give birth to future innovations, which can be implemented by the companies in Neihu Technology Park. Regarding the issue of traffic congestions in Neihu, the mayor admitted that commuting remains a problem for the neighborhood, since over 150,000 people work at Neihu Technology Park. An approach taken by city hall is to construct 2 public housing complexes in the district – Ruiguang and Xingshan public housings. Hopefully, the traffic challenge can be alleviated by having some of the workers living near their workplace. Other solutions the city government have implemented include shortening intervals between MRT trains, expanding road width of several local thoroughfares, and expanding express bus services. While these policies may relieve some of the pressure, he believes that the true solution is the completion of the MRT Circle Line. Work is expected to begin for both the north and south sections of the Circle Line this year. Ko concluded his address by expressing his gratitude to the association, pointing out that it has always played the role of a vital supporter of city hall during dialogue sessions with industry players, providing officials with many suggestions. He promised that the city government will do its best to help if the association needs the assistance of city hall.
