Silicon Alley, Silicon Saxony, Silicon Roundabout ... Russia is not alone in its plans to emulate California as a global technology hub.
Thanks to its proximity to Wall Street’s cash, Manhattan’s Silicon Alley was close to overtaking Silicon Valley before the dotcom bubble burst in 2000. Now Manhattan is thriving again with startups, including gossip site Gawker in SoHo, and eBay and Facebook are moving in.
The auction site expects to expand its New York office to more than 200 people and Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said she was looking to “hire as much talent” as she could in the Big Apple.
Tech is also the talk of various cities in Germany. Berlin, which is said to host about 400 startups and regularly holds events designed to propel them into being fully grown companies, is billing itself, rather unimaginatively, as “Silicon Berlin.”
Munich, which hasn’t yet come up with a name to describe its tech-friendliness, claims more than 55,000 people work in research and development within a few kilometers of the city center.
Max Nathan, a research fellow at research center LSE Cities in London, believes there are many parallels between Munich and California’s bay area.
“Both have shifted from being mainly rural communities to high-tech hubs. Both offer a strong economy and an excellent quality of life — something that’s helped keep people in the area,” he said.
Dresden has copied Berlin and Munich, but given itself the rather catchier name of Silicon Saxony. Almost 300 companies, many involved in solar power, have signed up to the region’s industry agreement.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry