Mayor’s remarks:
I. Tainan City was invited to the 31st International Mayors Conference hosted by Israel
1. This year, the conference invited 22 mayors from around the world to discuss the issue of a smart, sustainable and safe city. At the same time, they visited many featured cities in Israel, such as Tel Aviv, Ra’anana, Jerusalem and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Tel Aviv, a city famous for its innovation, we listened to the keynote speech of Wendy Singer, executive director of Stars-Up Nation Central, on “How to connect Israel’s innovation and technology”. We also visited the central control center of Tel Aviv. There are many innovative experiences which can provide a reference for Tainan’s development as a smart city.
2. Wendy Singer pointed out that 4.38% of the Israeli government’s GDP was spent on science and technology R & D. The government’s strong support, the nation’s innate creativity and the military conscription of men and women provide the best pre-entrepreneurial training, leading to Israel’s outstanding entrepreneurial ability.
3. To achieve the goal of a smart city, the central control center of Tel Aviv set up 800 cameras in the city which transmit data back to the central control center via the Internet and uses the center’s computer to interpret any anomalies. This method is similar to that of Tainan, which shows that our development of a smart city is connected with the world.
II. Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, talked about Israel’s current situation
1. The Prime Minister indicated that there had always been a lack of water in Israel due to its location in the desert. Therefore, the government put a lot of effort into water reuse, resulting in a water recycling ratio of 80%, the highest in the world, with 59% of the agricultural irrigation water coming from reused water. Furthermore, dairy farming is a prominent industry in Israel. With high tech assistance, each cow can produce more than 10 thousand liters of milk every year, making Israel the world’s number one. Also, Israel has one of the highest investment ratios in the world, with the main investments in high tech industries, especially in Internet security.
2. The Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that a country needs to have the capability of self-reliance to protect itself before changing neighboring countries’ perception of it and forming alliances. Although Israel is a small country and has often been embroiled in military conflicts with surrounding countries, finding new issues, such as technology and Internet security, to form alliances is crucial. In the past, it was thought that there were tensions between Israel and Arabian countries. But in recent years, after the rise of the Islamic State, Israel has been cooperating with countries such as Egypt, Jordan and others to deal with issues such as enhancing Internet security and combating terrorism. More alliances lead to more power.
3. During this visit to Israel, I saw their advanced development in promoting high-tech startups, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, Internet security, and smart cities, and how they overcame the difficulties of a lack of natural resources, developing areas such as water reuse, drip irrigation and exports of organic agricultural products, in which they have a significant status in the world.
4. Israel’s success is based on a sound education system, true patriotism and a spirit of never-giving-up and self-reliance, which is a good example for Taiwan. Israel would be a good option for the Tainan City Government Agriculture Bureau, the Education Bureau, the Economic Development Bureau and the Water Resources Bureau if there is a need for business investigation.
III. We fight for the establishment of the Southern National Central Library at Sinying Wungao 11
1.In the past, the central government focused its library development efforts more on the north than the south, more on universities than public libraries, so that in the Southwest Area, only the National Cheng Kung University Library could provide basic academic research resources. But in the public library system, we have much room for improvement both in the number and variety of collections.
2.The Southern National Central Library was President Tsai’s politics to campaign for the legislators of Tainan during the election. I proposed the Wungao 11 Land in Sinying District as the location of the Southern National Central Library. This will not only be Tainan City’s library but also a national library. There are 29 universities in the Southwest Area, and Sinying is at the center, so in the future, the library can satisfy the needs of the people in the Southwest Area to read and do academic research.
3.Sinying Wungao 11 has good traffic conditions, being close to the Sinying Interchange and connecting with major roads such as Chang-rong Road, Jian-kang Road and Jin-hua Road. The area is 5.71 hectares, and through the multi-purpose method of urban planning, it is enough for a hinterland and can provide large parking spaces. Also, it has good living conditions and service; there are fully developed residential and commercial districts around the area, making it the best location for the Southern National Central Library. I ask the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Urban Development Bureau to work hard to convince the central government of this cause. I ask the Cultural Affairs Bureau to make a plan and a request to the Ministry of Education for appropriation. I also ask competent authorities to move the basketball and tennis facilities on Wungao 11 to other areas so that people can continue to enjoy the sports.
Reports
I.The Tourism Bureau reports the “Follow-up Policy Projects of the Two-fort Zone Tourist Area”. (see the written report)
Resolution: approved for reference filing
Mayor’s comments:
(1) The Two-fort Zone Tourist Area, with Fort Zeelandia (Anping Fort) and Fort Provintia (Chihkan Tower) as its core, was announced by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in September and became the first legal tourist area in Taiwan, marking a new milestone in Tainan’s tourism development. I thank Director-general Wang of the Tourism Bureau and his colleagues for their hard work in the past three years, and I also thank the assistance of related bureaus such as the Urban Development Bureau and the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
(2) However, after the official announcement comes the real challenges—how to manage the tourist area effectively and show its advantages. From today’s project report, we can see that the tourist area affects many fields, including the environmental landscape, transportation, urban planning, building management, and even vendors and markets. It is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.
(3) Moreover, the issue of establishing legal hostels, which has received much attention from hotel industries, citizens and tourists, has had progress in the tourist area. This opens up a new possibility for the rehabilitation and reuse of old houses. On one hand, hostels can be managed legally in the tourist area, so that unique hostels can become an attractive element of Tainan for tourists. On the other hand, we have to emphasize that there should be a healthy competition between hotels and hostels. They should target different customer groups and work together to expand Tainan’s tourism market, so that all kinds of tourists can find their ideal accommodation in Tainan.
(4) To make everything go smoothly, I ask Secretary-general Lee to be the coordinator of the cross-office coordination platform, the Tourism Bureau to be in charge, and related bureaus and departments such as the Urban Development Bureau, the Public Works Bureau, the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Transportation Bureau, the Fire Bureau and the Department of Legal Affairs to participate. We must make sure that the management of the tourist area will have the greatest effect on boosting Tainan’s travel industry and making it a more prosperous and advanced city.
II. The Transportation Bureau reports the “Transfer Station Development and the Taiwan Railway Station Transfer Optimization Project”. (see the written report)
Resolution: approved for reference filing
Mayor’s comments:
(1) “Rapid transitization of public transport system” is an important transport policy of the city government, which includes six major tasks—turning bus into rapid transit system, turning railway into rapid transit system, developing transfer stations, flexible transport, ticket integration and advanced transportation system. Under the guidance of Director-general Chang, the “rapid transitization of public transport system” is not only a complete six-year development plan but also, more importantly, a project “from scratch, from there to good, from good to better.” Step by step, we have been making steady progress, and after three years of hard work, we can gradually see the results, and the excellent performance is worthy of acknowledgment and praise.
(2) The main point today is the construction results of the “transfer” of the public transportation, including the completion of 9 transfer stations and the transfer optimization of 4 Taiwan railway stations. Not only do the transfer stations provide the service of a seamless transfer, giving citizens and tourists a more convenient and complete public transportation service, but they also become the area’s “transportation, living and business center”.
(3) During the development of the transfer stations, the Transportation Bureau introduced some innovative methods worthy of acknowledgment. First, the design of transfer stations combines local characteristics with architectural aesthetics. For example, Madou Transfer Station won the FIABCI-Taiwan Real Estate Excellence Awards and the Yuan Ye Awards because it transmitted the image of the Madou pomelo. Guanmiao Transfer Station even used the pineapple and green bamboo shoot, which represented the Nan Gwan Area, as the design principle, and it has become a new check-in landmark. Second, the Transportation Bureau introduced the concept of “roadside station”. Madou Transfer Station is the first transfer station to combine with the marketing of agricultural products. Now a sales area of agricultural products has been established on the second floor, which sells the city’s high-quality agricultural products, so that people can buy souvenirs during their wait. Third, the Transportation Bureau provided subsidies to the companies for the construction and actively strove for subsidies from the central government, creating an advantage with public-private partnership. For the follow-up construction of transfer stations, we will focus on introducing the creativity and funds from private sectors to promote development. I ask the Transportation Bureau to work hard on enterprise recruitment, creating an advantage with public-private partnership and new opportunities to transform Tainan.
(4) I thank the team led by Director-general Chang of the Transportation Bureau for doing their best to organize and carry out the plan. Under a limited budget and manpower, the development of transfer stations in Tainan has had many concrete results. I hope that the Transportation Bureau can keep up the good work, and I also ask other bureaus and departments to provide necessary assistance and work together towards the goal of “Transferring in Tainan Creates Urban and Rural Prosperity”. I ask Director-general Chang of the Transportation Bureau to promote the following tasks: the Railway Underground Project from Yongkang, Shanhua to Sinshih and the Advanced Transportation System Project. Please present the two projects to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications as soon as possible in order to complete the rapid transitization of Tainan’s public transport system.