The World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) is in town for the next three days and Taiwan deserves it, according to George Huang, chairman of Acer Digital Services Corporation.
"I think it's a kind of recognition that Taiwan is a very important information technology (IT) player in the world," said Huang about the fact the 12th WCIT is being held in Taipei this year.
He pointed out that Taiwan's high position in IT worldwide makes it the perfect location for such a conference, and said this year's theme, "IT for a Better World -- A New Millennium," fits with where Taiwan needs to be with its thinking on high tech issues.
Taiwan has long been recognized as a world leader in information technology, with the country's IT hardware output ranked third behind only the US and Japan. Taiwan currently produces 54 percent of the world's notebook PCs, 81 percent of the world's scanners and 61 percent of the world's motherboards.
"The WCIT is very important to Taiwan because Taiwan is so advanced (in IT)," said Kuo Yun, president of Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry.
While Taiwan has long held a strong position in IT hardware, it is the country's software sector that has shown the greatest growth in recent years, posting 35 percent annual growth in 1999.
"I think this is also important ... to highlight to the people of Taiwan that right now the more important issue is not just producing hardware but adapting that technology into daily life, daily business practices as well," said Acer Digital's Huang.
A relatively affluent nation with GDP per capita of around US$16,500, Taiwan has long been quick to embrace new technology and surge ahead in a competitive business environment.
Taiwan's foreign reserves are the third-largest in the world and its economic and business strength helped it survive the 1998 Asian economic crisis relatively unscathed.
That strength has lead many in the region to look toward Taiwan as a model for IT development.
With a vast array of speakers in Taiwan for the congress, "We will learn about new IT from the best in the World," said George Newstrom, Corporate Senior Vice President at EDS.
According to WCIT officials, this year's program was set in part by advice from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates after the 1998 conference in Virginia. Richard Yin, chairman of WCIT 2000, said he asked Gates what could be done to improve the conference when in Taipei in 2000.
Yin said Gates advised him to make sure the conference was fair for every speaker in terms of time and venue. In turn, the Taipei organizers have alotted 35 minutes for each of the 30 speakers and everyone speaks at the same location.
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