The Taipei Chamber of Commerce yesterday launched its Smart City Commerce Committee, which has been tasked with streamlining public and private-sector efforts to introduce “smart” city services for Taipei residents.
The committee is to function as a platform to promote collaboration between the Taipei City Government and private firms, as well as a channel for dialogue between the public and private sectors, committee chairman Gary Wang (王令麟), who is also chairman of the Eastern Multimedia Group, told a news conference.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) gave an overview of the city’s policies to develop “smart” city applications, which primarily focus on the creation of a platform on which firms can contribute technologies through collaborative projects with the municipal government.
Citing 18,000 public housing units scheduled to begin construction by the end of next year, Ko said that each unit would be equipped with power-saving electricity and gas meters.
Photovoltaic panels are to be installed on the roofs of the public housing, while charging stations are to be set up for electric vehicles, the mayor said.
The large amount of equipment needed for public housing is expected to drive economic growth, he said, adding that “smart” city development is a promising industry for Taiwan.
An office of the Taipei Department of Labor in Datong District (大同) has moved to Building A of the Wanhua Twin Star complex, while a “digital and innovative industry park” has been planned on the vacated plot of land, Ko said.
Taipei’s plan to build “smart” city infrastructure is an inside-out process that begins with the city government and extends to the private sector, he said.
Asked by reporters what goals he has set for Taipei as a “smart” city, Ko said: “You are limited only by your imagination.”
“We will keep initiating new projects when we have new ideas,” he said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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