U.S.-based think tank the International Community Forum has named Taichung City in central Taiwan one of the world’s Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year 2012, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu said Feb. 6.
According to the ICF, the seven cities on its list were chosen from among over 400 metropolitan centers worldwide.
“The ICF Top Seven are communities that provide a model of economic and social development in the 21st Century using information and communications to power growth, address social challenges and preserve and promote culture,” said the ICF, which made its announcement Jan. 18 in Honolulu.
“This honor proves that the work of our officials in recent years is starting to pay off and it will encourage our residents to envision a better future,” said Hu. “Residents of our city and local governments should all feel proud because of this recognition,” he added.
In gratitude to the efforts of government officials and workers that made the award possible, the mayor presented a meritorious service medal to government officials at City Hall.
The other six cities on ICF’s list were Canada’s Quebec, Saint John, and Stratford; Oulu, Finland; and Austin, Texas, and Riverside, Calif., in the U.S.
The ICF noted that although the county and city of Taichung were merged in 2010, the new and enlarged Taichung City still has 80 percent coverage for both WiMAX wireless and fiber broadband accessibility, with 100 percent expected to be reached within five years.
“Using this network, Taichung has worked steadily to streamline the way business operates,” the ICF said.
The international forum also attributed the city’s outstanding performance to a cloud computing database built by the state-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute.
The database cuts purchasing costs and delivery time to markets for 47 local manufacturers of precision machinery, according to the forum.
“It is the first of a series of such joint projects to harness information communications technology for industrial applications,” the ICF said.
The Taichung City Government will redouble its efforts in public infrastructural improvement and energy savings for both businesses and households, according to Hu. (HZW)
