IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The ministry said the e-passport, which increases document security and therefore speeds up immigration procedures, had already played an important role in obtaining visa-waiver status in the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union.

Taiwan, which was recently singled out as being the world's best e-government, has linked progress with e-government to wider objectives concerning the territory's IT development.

A total of 1.58 million people had applied for access to the free Wi-Fi service, called Taipei Free, as of the end of November 2012, up from about 900,000 subscribers at the beginning of the year.

Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC)’s Smart Port Vision Pavilion at this year’s 2024 Smart City Summit and Expo exhibition, held from March 21st to 23rd at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, reflected the exhibition’s digital x green transformation theme. The pavilion shared the results of the Taiwan ports’ Trans-SMART 2.0 Plan, introduced the joint TIPC Chunghwa Telecom 5G AIoT-based 24/7 Smart Harbor & Coastal Surveillance System Verification Project, presented new sensor technology for a 5G-integrated logistics network, and demonstrated a 24/7 IoT-based oil pollution surveillance system and an autonomous surface vehicle designed to collect and dispose of waste floating in harbor waters. These innovations would help to raise the effectiveness of port water area management and infuse new vitality into port city sustainability.

According to BloombergNEF's recent study, the need for smarter and greener cities is greater than ever since the focus of city officials has honed in on net-zero carbon goals and COVID-19 impacts. To address worsening pollution, public health, security, and other issues, digital technology can help create more sustainable cities. Examples of such issues and technological solutions were discussed at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona. With support from Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Taiwan has implemented 223 Smart City projects which make use of various technologies and innovative solutions to improve important aspects of communities, including governance, healthcare, transportation, agriculture and more.

As 5G is commercialized more widely, lampposts are turned into micro base stations in cities. These smart poles are equipped with five major systems: 5G communication, smart pole management, AIoT applications, AI transport law enforcement, and edge computers. Huang Chung-yu, CTO at Pegatron, said lampposts provide the power the smart system needs, and they are right by the side of the road. These roadside smart lampposts, or smart poles, are small 5G base stations and they will be an indispensable part of the smart city.

Aetina, a Taiwanese provider of AI solutions, will showcase its edge AI solutions at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona from November 5-7, 2024.

The company will highlight its DeviceEdge series, featuring the Aetina In-Vehicle System and SuperEdge AI Inference system, designed for smart city and transportation applications.

The e-Gate system, which can be used by citizens 14 years and over with valid passports and registered biometric data, was officially put into operation at international airports in Taoyuan County, Taipei and Kaohsiung and at the Kinmen Seaport after trial runs.

Taipei residents do not want smart city efforts based on ‘centralized control, tracking and mass surveillance,’ the campaign’s initiators said

Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) yesterday said that her campaign against the Taipeipass (台北通) app has garnered almost 10,000 signatures since Friday, but exposed her to insults and threats by telephone and through social media.

In one prominent international ranking of how well municipalities have developed themselves into smart cities, Taipei is positioned in eighth place, while in another it is 26th. One survey gives Taipei its highest score for environmental policies, and another considers it one of its lowest.

The discrepancy reflects the arbitrary nature of these indices and the imprecision with which the term “smart city” tends to be discussed. Debates about communities have been turned into a technological competition, mostly concerned with products best able to extract value on the margins of society.

Following its success in Vietnam, Chunghwa Telecom is teaming up with state-owned CAT Telecom of Thailand to develop smart city-related applications

Chunghwa Telecom Co (CHT, 中華電信), the nation’s biggest telecom operator, yesterday said that it has inked a memorandum of understanding with CAT Telecom PCL to develop smart city services in Thailand as part of renewed efforts to explore new revenue sources in emerging Southeast Asian markets.

In Taoyuan’s traffic control center, dozens of monitors display green lights cascading through city streets. When an ambulance races toward a hospital, artificial intelligence clears its path in seconds, turning life-threatening traffic jams into seamless journeys.

This is the new reality of smart cities, where technology isn’t just improving urban life — it’s saving it. Liao Hsiu-wu, who chairs Taiwan’s Smart Community Development Committee, has witnessed his city transform from a growing suburb into a testing ground for ambitious urban technology.

The Kaohsiung City Government held a smart application results announcements and presentations at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Hall on the 15th, and at the same time kicked off the 2022 Smart City Summit & Expo in Kaohsiung, according to Institute for Information Industry. Minister Kung Ming-Hsin of National Development Council stated that the two major factors of international cooperation with Taiwan are semiconductors and smart cities. Kaohsiung is on the global trend. At present, TSMC, semiconductor equipment and materials manufacturers have successively entered Kaohsiung, which was unimaginable a year and a half ago. Kaohsiung plays a very important role in the promotion of smart cities. It has become a hub for Taiwan's output in smart cities. It not only replicates the successful model to Southeast Asian countries, but also moves forward in Europe and the world.

The organizational structure of the government must be updated in response to social, political and economic changes so it can lead society to keep up with the trends of the time.

Now that the Internet has developed into a major social sphere, and digital technology is an inseparable part of industry and society, the Executive Yuan’s decision to establish a digital development ministry is necessary and correct.

Kaohsiung City promotes smart city development through digital technologies to provide citizens with better living conditions, attract high-tech investment and talent, and enable local companies to grow together. In 2022, Kaohsiung City received numerous international smart city awards, from the APEC ESCI Best Practices Award - Low Carbon Model Towns Gold Award, the IDC Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA), and many others. This demonstrates that Kaohsiung's transportation, agriculture, low-carbon measures, and sustainable development have caught the world's attention and created enticing opportunities for the international market to invest in Kaohsiung.

Taiwan assists Mbabane with smart transportation and urban management upgrades

A delegation from Eswatini visited Kaohsiung on Tuesday as part of a project to upgrade smart transportation in the capital Mbabane.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kaohsiung’s Transportation Bureau, and International Integrated Systems, Inc. are planning to install 50 cameras at 35 intersections in Mbabane, pe CNA. The systems will use a 5G network to analyze and monitor traffic conditions.

Charles Lin, Deputy Mayor of Kaohsiung has been actively involved in promoting the development of smart cities in Taiwan and has been recognized for his contributions to this field.

One of the questions asked to Mr. Lin was which countries, aside from Taiwan, have made significant progress towards establishing smart cities. In response, Mr. Lin noted that many cities around the world are claiming to be working towards becoming smart cities. However, he emphasized that there are several components that need to be set up for a city to truly be considered smart.

A month ago, the first self-driving bus operations begun its three-month trial in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan. It is the first revenue-generating service of autonomous rapid transit (ART) project supported by the central and local governments. The goal is to launch commercial operation across the country in 2021.

“Autonomous technology will lead a revolutionary change to the city’s transportation systems,” said Huang Wei-Cher, Mayor of Tainan. “The smart transportation initiative will help us improve overall road safety, operational efficiency, and rural area transportation services.”

Hon Hai Technology Group, widely known as Foxconn, has announced a partnership with the Sonora state government in Mexico, signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on smart city development. Drawing from its work in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Foxconn will introduce smart city solutions to Sonora using its Build-Operate-Localize (BOL) business model to work with local stakeholders.

The MOU outlines plans to focus on transportation, public safety, and port management, aiming to improve digital services for residents, businesses, and government. Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo Montaño said the partnership aligns with the state's push to lead Mexico's electric mobility sector and advance AI applications. "This supports our innovation goals and contributes to a better future for families," he said, noting potential ties to President Claudia Sheinbaum's "Proyecto Olinia" for electric vehicles, batteries, and buses.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the National Immigration Agency (NIA) yesterday jointly announced that a total of seven sets of the newly-introduced system will be first tested at the Shuitou Port (水頭港) in Kinmen, one of the entry-points for passengers making use of the Mini Three links.

Once the trial runs are successful in the outlying island, the scheme will later be expanded to two airports in northern Taiwan, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei Songshan Airport, and Kaohsiung International Airport in the south.