Taipei is among five cities from around the world hosting a once-in-a-decade celebration of TEDx, a community-based project similar to Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) Conferences LLC, with organizers on Wednesday expressing the hope that the event would promote Taiwan and exchanges of ideas.
Dubbed TEDxWeekend, the event is to be held from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3, said Luke Lee (李欣龍), TEDx ambassador for Taipei, adding that it is to feature about 500 TEDx team staffers from 52 countries, who would share their diverse ideas.
“We will bring TEDx partners around the world to tourism spots, enterprises and local communities to experience Taiwan, as well as hold gatherings for them to exchange ideas,” Lee said.
For instance, TEDx partners would visit Taipei 101 to study the recycling measures used there, and learn how buildings can become environmentally friendly, he said.
They would also visit Taipei’s historic Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area to better understand local people’s lives, Lee added.
Lee said he hopes that such events will enable more people to learn about Taiwan, and although they are not open to the public, discussions that take place at the event could be spread via social media, contributing to global innovation.
TED fellows or distinguished achievers would also be invited to give speeches at TEDxWeekend, including young entrepreneurs from Asia America Multitechnology Association and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Cesar June-Herada, a TED fellow and maker who promotes innovative technology-based solutions to help resolve social issues, met with other makers in Taiwan over the past five days.
“We are very impressed with the amount of creativity and refinement that we can see in your design and culture,” June-Herada said.
Mexico City, Tunis, Rome and Johannesburg are also hosting TEDxWeekend events.
TED is a media organization that posts talks online, which are distributed free of charge under the slogan “ideas worth spreading.”
TEDx, which operates under a free license granted by TED, is organized by individuals who seek to discover ideas and spark conversations in their own communities.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard