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Mayor Li Men-yen Attends 2018 World Cities Summit and Mayors Forum and Promotes Tainan City Smart Transportation

Posted Date:2018-07-25

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Mayor Li Men-yen Attends 2018 World Cities Summit and Mayors Forum and Promotes Tainan City Smart Transportation

Introduce

Mayor Li Men-yen was invited by Singaporean Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong to attend the 6th World Cities Summit (WCS) and 9th Mayors Forum hosted in Singapore. Mayor Li and delegation, which included Tainan City Government Deputy Secretary-General Hong De-yang and Department of Information and International Relations Director Hsu Shu-fen, participated in the event held on July 8, 2018.

The theme of this year's Summit is "Liveable & Sustainable Cities: Embracing the Future through Innovation and Collaboration". The Mayors Forum, one of the highlights of the event, invited mayors and high level government officials from major cities all over the world and experts from various professions to jointly discuss issues concerning governance and planning, technology and social innovation, balanced sustainability, and developing a livable city. This year's number of attendees broke the record with more than two hundred city leaders and international business representatives taking part in the grand Summit.

Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance, chaired the Mayors Forum which kicked off on July 8. After expressing Singapore is honored to host the attending mayors, he remarked that he hopes this forum can become an exclusive platform for global mayors and city leaders to discuss the challenges they face when governing their cities, and share their respective best practices and cases. Wong encouraged the audience to take the opportunity to discuss how cities can encourage innovation, adapt to new technology, and use destructive innovation to deal with new challenges.

During the afternoon, Mayor Li actively shared Tainan's smart city development progress with other attending mayors. It was mentioned that on May 5 this year, Tainan city government signed the "Tainan City Smart Roadside Parking Meter System BOT Project" with Acer ITS Inc. to collaborate on the promotion of smart transportation and low carbon city in Tainan. This project is expected to set up 2,000 smart parking spaces in parking hotspots within one year. Drivers only have to park their cars in the parking space and the system will automatically detect the license plates. Arrival and departure time of the parked vehicle will be recorded in the database automatically, and parking lots no longer need to issue parking payment slips manually. Drivers can easily pay their parking fees at roadside payment kiosks with an electronic payment slip. These measures will effectively increase parking space turnover and address the current parking-related challenges.

Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, introduced some of his city's recent major projects during the afternoon session of the Mayors Forum, and expressed that urban development has to include collaborations between the government and NGOs and ensure a stable capital flow. He also pointed out that cities should recognize their own progress has to be based on partnerships with neighboring cities and not a selfish perspective. Other city representatives agreed with this notion and affirmed that urban development requires the cooperation and participation of city governments and residents. Stephanie von Friedeburg, Chief Operating Officer for International Finance Corporation (IFC) was also present at the forum and shared the importance of maintaining resilient and sustainable finances when rolling out urban development policies and plans.

This is the first time Tainan City sent a delegation to the Summit. Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Taichung City, and Penghu County also sent representatives to the event. Mayor Li said that the forum offers an opportunity for attendees to not only discuss governance strategies and policies with other city representatives from all over the world, but also learn more about the experiences and challenges different cities face.

Mayor Li also had a pleasant discussion with Minister Lawrence Wong during the event. In addition to exchanging experiences on city governance, there were much discussion and sharing on topics such as smart cities, resilient cities, and promoting smart green energy. The event was also an opportunity for Tainan City to actively interact with other international cities.

Since declaring independence in 1965, Singapore has become one of the four Asian Tigers through international trade and leveraging human capital. In recent years, the country has been dedicated to developing smart technology and diversifying economic industries, consequently landing Singapore as the fourth wealthiest country in the world. Singapore is also a regular location for international diplomatic meetings due to its relatively neutral international position and impeccable state security. The country recently hosted the meeting between US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which has increased the importance of Singapore in the international stage.

Source of Information: Tainan City Government

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