A European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) delegation led by Chairman Giuseppe Izzo traveled to Tainan on Sep. 10 to sign a MOU with National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and the Shalun Innovation Alliance. Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-che thanked Chairman Izzo in person for the European business’ support and expressed that he looks forward to more collaborations and exchanges between European businesses and the academia, industries, and public sectors in Tainan. The goal is to set up sustainable development measures that benefit local residents. Tainan Deputy Mayor Hsu Yue-tien was also present to witness the event.
The Mayor pointed out that European cities has long been leaders in global sustainable city development, and every year the Taiwanese government gains much insight from ECCT’s suggestions. Suggestions from ECCT this year which are related to 5G, energy transition, and smart transportation are also major policy focuses for Tainan City. Tainan is dedicated to transforming itself into a smart new capital with measures such as the Solar City Project, 5G Tainan Team, and the official launch of self-driving buses. The Shalun Innovation Alliance (SIA), which was established this May, is an additional boost to the transformation as it combines the capabilities of the industries, academia, and public sector to help realize Tainan’s sustainable city developments faster.
Chairman Izzo expressed that with the signing of this MOU, he hopes to establish long-term technical and research exchanges with Tainan's academia, industries, and public sector, and collaborate in the R&D of sustainable green energy and smart technologies. Through these solid interactions, Taiwan and Europe can work together to set up a low carbon home for our residents.
Su Huey-jen, President of NCKU and Convener of Shalun Innovation Alliance, remarked that National Cheng Kung University and the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan had already signed a MOU in 2013, and now she is delighted to see a new stage of collaborations between the two parties. Su looks forward to working together with ECCT to solve possible future challenges. As the convener of the Alliance, Su also introduced the mission of Shalun Innovation Alliance and smart innovative industry goals.
The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan set up the Low Carbon Initiative (LCI) in 2011 with the objective to promote more energy policy exchanges between Taiwan and Europe. ECCT has hosted the Low Carbon City Conference in Tainan for many consecutive years, and this year’s conference focused on four main topics: green energy, smart transportation in cities, the circular economy, and smart health.