To review the progress made after two years of building Taipei into a 24-hour cyber city, the Taipei City Government yesterday launched a five-day exhibition at City Hall as part of the realization of Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
"Two and a half years ago when I announced my candidacy for Taipei mayor, I set a primary goal of building a cyber city in this dynamic and prosperous metropolis ? I'm glad that we have been able to maintain very high-speed progress over the years," Ma said at the ceremony held at Taipei City Hall yesterday. "I'm sure that this is the only way to make Taipei competitive in this very competitive world," he added.
Ma added that he is confident that his dream would eventually come true.
"In July of last year, a US-based information technology magazine, Wired, rated Taipei City No. 8 in the world and No. 1 in the Asia-Pacific region [for its information technology development and facilities]. Our work, however, is not finished yet. We have to work harder and harder," he said.
According to Ma, as of today, 75 percent of the city's families have computers and 63 percent of the city residents above the age of 12 are frequent Internet users.
To make its services more accessible and user friendly, the city government has been pushing the use of the electronic data exchange system. From today, Ma said, about 93 percent of the city government's paper and memos are being exchanged through that system.
In addition, the city has set up a total of 260 information kiosks in public places, and spent over NT$3 billion to equip municipal primary, junior high and senior high schools with computers.
"Our goal is to have one computer in every classroom. Now only 57 percent of the city's 11,000 classrooms are equipped with computers. We hope by the end of this year we'll be able to reach the 100 percent goal, and by the end of next year, we'll be able to establish 800 public information kiosks for the use of our citizens," he said.
The city also offers life-time e-mail accounts and three-hour Internet training courses free of charge to city residents and those who work in the city.
"This program will continue. So for those of you who are interested, please contact us," he said.
For more information, please visit related Web sites at www.cybercity.net.tw or www.taipeilink.net or www.taipei.gov.tw.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft