This afternoon (August 17), Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke attended the “2023 Smart City Summit & Expo” in Taipei City, where he received the Smart City Excellent Contribution Awards - Smart Governance Award. Magistrate Yang gave a 20-minute acceptance speech describing the safety, resilience, sustainability, and livability of Hsinchu County, expounding on the various endeavors made in recent years to incorporate smart technology into urban planning. After the speech, Magistrate Yang joined Wealth Magazine CEO Hsieh Chin-ho, Chunghwa Telecom General Manager Lin Chao-yang, and Taiwan Optical Platform Chairwoman Liao Tzu-chen for a keynote discussion.
The summit and expo began with National Development Council Deputy Minister Kao Shien-Quey presenting the Smart City Excellent Contribution Awards - Smart Governance Award to Yang Wen-ke, followed by Magistrate Yang’s 20-minute speech, during which he expressed his gratitude to the organizers, the county government staff, the residents of Hsinchu County, and the county council. Magistrate Yang explained that Hsinchu Science Park is well known as a leader promoting the development of Taiwan’s semiconductor and information and communications technology (ICT) industries. Hsinchu County holds a wealth of technological advantages, which enabled him and his team at the county government to break through a number of obstacles to make progress on smart construction. This award will serve as a motivator for his team to continue their endeavors into the future, and they are grateful for the backstage support lent by those in the government, industry, academia, and research.
Magistrate Yang went on to say that this they have launched a total of 126 improvement projects, aiming to eliminate the effects of sludge, cut down on unnecessary procedures and equipment, and revolutionize systems for the convenience of citizens. The county government has begun employing My Data, which enables citizens to complete certain procedures online, such as registration for public and non-profit preschools. The county government has also granted access to over 600 data sets on Open Data, and will continue to implement reforms. Magistrate Yang thanked the organizers for their approval, but said that yet satisfied, and will continue to work hard for the sake of improving Hsinchu County. Due to the constant influx of people and industries, the county’s residents have raised their standards accordingly. Therefore, the county government aims to promote a resilient, smart city. Magistrate Yang welcomed those members of the audience to visit Hsinchu County and experience the county’s charm.
In his speech, Magistrate Yang expounded on the Hsinchu County Government’s efforts to promote “safety, resilience, sustainability, and livability”, prefacing with a short introduction of how Hsinchu County is the third largest administrative division in Taiwan, after New Taipei City and Yilan County. It boasts vast landscapes with a range of diverse towns and cities. The average age of residents is 40.25 years, ranked the youngest in all of Taiwan. At the same time, the county’s smart transportation, smart education and culture, smart medical care, smart industries, and smart governance each exemplify the tireless efforts of the Hsinchu County Government. Magistrate Yang shared his experiences with these projects, explaining that from basic infrastructure to crisis prevention strategies, living environments, green spaces, and the promotion of waste reduction and recycling, from smart to sustainable, all share the goal of working toward building a resilient city and a better future for Hsinchu County.
Chunghwa Telecom General Manager Lin Chao-yang also mentioned in his speech that, in 2021, when the pandemic was at its peak, Chunghwa Telecom used its environment, health, and safety workplace construction and management system as a basis to develop and expand on the “pandemic dotted map”, “employee footprint management”, “rapid test monitoring” and other anti-virus measures to help the Hsinchu County Government gain control over pandemic hotspots, conduct relevant tests, and implement preventative care services.
In the keynote discussion, Mr. Hsieh spoke first and asked about the transportation and traffic in Hsinchu County, to which Magistrate Yang responded that the key was to approach smart monitoring via an area-based governance angle. In the future, the county will utilize communications platforms and summit meetings to collaborate with Hsinchu City and the Hsinchu Science Park on various project proposals, such as the recently proposed smart traffic control project for National Highway No.1. The traffic corridor will begin in Zhubei City and extend to Hsinchu City’s Gongdao Fifth Rd., Guangfu Rd., Hsin Ann Rd., and Park Ave. Second Rd. to conduct smart traffic control. When taking the overall traffic from Zhubei to the Hsinchu Science Park into consideration, the hardware involves building a bridge, and as for the software, the government is currently promoting smart traffic sign control. “This is the next step,” he said.
When asked about Hsinchu County’s advantages in smart medical care, as well as the difficulties county residents face and their respective solutions, Magistrate Yang responded that Hsinchu County is home to the Hsinchu Science Park and Biomedical Park, the Industrial Technology Research Institute, and many universities and educational institutions. It has the advantage of being the home of the technology industry and a gathering place for research organizations. Consequently, collaboration between industry, government, academia, and research goes smoothly, especially when the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, and other technologies are involved, enabling Hsinchu County to provide better medical care and long-term care solutions. In recent years, these solutions have been adopted by many major hospitals in the Hsinchu area, bolstering emergency medical care for severe illnesses.
Additionally, because each city, town, and village has its own idiosyncrasies, each of the major hospitals has invested resources in providing touring medical care for remote areas. Participating institutions include National Taiwan University BioMedical Park Hospital, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, the Wufeng Township and Jianshi Health Station Service Networks, all of which provide ear, nose, and throat care; optometry care; dermatology care; and remote ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology treatment, sparing residents of Jianshi and Wufeng Township the inconvenience of having to make long trips to medical care providers. The touring medical care program also aids in hepatitis tracking. In the future, this will be the foundation for developing the industry and digitized healthcare, and will also speed up the collection, sharing, and analysis of medical data, ultimately boosting the efficiency and accuracy of medical care.
Hsieh Chin-ho emphasized his familiarity with Hsinchu County. In recent years, he’s watched the county transform, including the changes to the Smangus Trail and Zhubei City. Hardware construction has become even more convenient and novel, and spaces such as the biomedical park quickly reach max capacity, which demonstrates the vigorous development of Hsinchu County.