Last June Taipei was named Intelligent Community of the Year during an annual conference at New York's Polytechnic University.
Taipei's selection was almost universally acknowledged as the correct one, although the community of Waterloo, Ontario (Canada), home to the BlackBerry device, was a very strong contender. However, in the end, the complete performance of the community met each of the Intelligent Community Forum's five basic criteria.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
On Monday, Taipei's Economic and Cultural Office in New York will host a reception to announce the Smart21 Intelligent Communities of 2007.
As those involved with Taipei's nomination this year know, these are the 21 communities that are named as finalists for the Intelligent Community of the Year. We notice that Taipei's leadership has inspired a certain quality of entrants and that helps us study communities further. We at the Intelligent Community Forum would like to thank Taipei for being a role model for communities everywhere that wish to use the tools of technology to form cultures that we hope are increasingly more peaceful and prosperous.
Louis Zacharilla
Co-founder and director
Intelligent Community Forum, New York
In late January, Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), completed its first submerged dive, reaching a depth of roughly 50m during trials in the waters off Kaohsiung. By March, it had managed a fifth dive, still well short of the deep-water and endurance tests required before the navy could accept the vessel. The original delivery deadline of November last year passed months ago. CSBC Corp, Taiwan, the lead contractor, now targets June and the Ministry of National Defense is levying daily penalties for every day the submarine remains unfinished. The Hai Kun was supposed to be
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