At first glance, the Nankang Software Park (
That was the original idea behind it, to drag Taiwan into the age of the knowledge-based economy through government backing in a park designed to boost the software prowess of the nation.
The problem appears to be that despite heavy government backing and a package of incentives meant to attract firms to the park in its initial stages, plenty of office space remains -- and park officials are blaming flooding and power outages during last year's Typhoon Nari for the lack of interest in the park. And with stage two of construction underway at the park, which will nearly double available office space, the heat is on.
At a meeting set up last week to spotlight work by the city government to improve the park, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said extensive repair and expansion work at water pumping stations and river walls would work against future floods.
He also ordered workers to build platforms to set power equipment on in case floodwaters breach these defenses. During the typhoon last year, flooding was exacerbated by a power outage when power equipment set up on the ground shorted out after being inundated by floodwater.
Park officials then cited poor traffic flow as a cause for worker frustration and the lack of new companies moving to the park. New bus lines should ferry workers between Nankang and the nearby Neihu Technology Park (
But the heart of the matter never really cropped up in the discussion -- the lack of effort on the part of the park to promote itself. Long before Typhoon Nari there had been problems filling office space in the park, even though biotechnology and microchip design firms had also been invited in.
A press office would help. In three years covering technology news in Taipei, the press conference with Mayor Ma was the first time a Nankang Science Park invitation had ever crossed this reporter's desk. Neglecting the press is a major error in judgement.
The Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (新竹科學園區) sends out regular press releases and holds meetings to discuss yearly output, new construction activity and breakthroughs, and boasts an informative Web site in both Chinese and English, with monthly, quarterly and annual statistics.
The Nankang Science Park Web site is Chinese-language only and many of the Web site links go nowhere. This is despite the fact that officials professed a desire to attract foreign companies and researchers from software powerhouses such as India, where people speak English but not Chinese.
When asked for a list of companies in the park, along with contact information, a person in the management office said, "what do you want that for?"
She suggested I call the main line and ask to be transferred to the company I want to speak with. "But I don't know what companies are here. Isn't there a list somewhere?" I asked. "There must be," she agreed, but neither she nor the public relations firm handling the Mayor Ma press conference knew where such a list could be found.
With the hundreds of industrial and technology parks throughout Taiwan, one has to ask why would a company even consider the Nankang Software Park? They might get to sip cups of cappuccino while listening to park managers blame government officials for not filling the park, but they certainly won't get much attention.
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