TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The 11th Smart City Summit and Expo (SCSE) kicked off on Tuesday (March 19), featuring 450 exhibitors and 1,650 booths and attracting 2,200 domestic and international guests. This annual event, highlighting smart city applications in transportation and net-zero solutions, is a collaboration between the city of Kaohsiung, the Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance (TSSA) and the Taipei Computer Association.
Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan, speaking at the opening, noted that smart and digital technologies are pivotal for a stable transformation toward smart integration, aiming for a net-zero transformation of over 60%. "(They) can help achieve a more stable transformation and set a critical foundation to move toward smart integration," he said.
Also, Presidential Office Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung emphasized Taiwan's leading role in ICT and semiconductor AI, stressing that Taiwan can contribute and lead in the smart city and green city nexus. "I believe that smart cities must be green cities, and to become green, they must be smart cities," he added.
Minister Kung Ming-hsin of the National Development Council further highlighted the exhibition's focus on addressing smart city challenges, forward-thinking solutions, and showcasing Taiwan's commitment to net-zero targets. He mentioned the government's launch of the net-zero emissions plan for 2050, underscoring the importance of global collaboration.
"We've taken a step forward today to learn how to respond to the goal of net-zero cities in the following 30 years," he continued. "We anticipate the potential problems, consider how to approach these issues, and propose better solutions to address them."
Paul Peng, chairman of the Taipei Computer Association, stressed the significance of cross-regional cooperation and Taiwan's position as a hub for such initiatives in Asia. The exhibition showcases advancements in transportation, healthcare, construction, and more, with this year's event recording a 13% growth in scale compared to the previous year.
"We hope that through mutual sharing, cooperation, and exchanges between relevant units of domestic and foreign public associations, and through the application of technology and smart and green city constructions, we can move towards and achieve the vision of a smart, net-zero city," he said.
This year's event has attracted a historic attendance, including 495 government delegates from 46 countries and 1,697 international buyers, overcoming the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest delegations hail from Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, alongside significant participation from six German city leaders.
Set to take place in Taipei and Kaohsiung, the SCSE will also feature a "Net Zero City Leaders Summit" and a City COP Forum, fostering substantive global city collaborations. The exhibition emphasizes AI's omnipresence, 5G private network applications, and green finance as key components of Taiwan's push towards net-zero emissions, showcasing the nation's commitment to green transformation and international cooperation in achieving net-zero goals.
