Taipei City Government

During the 2015 Smart City x Mayor Forum on August 12, Mayor Ko Wen-je shared with the audience his views on the next steps in the development of Taipei’s smart city policy.
The mayor emphasized the key principles of open government, public participation, and an accessible platform to both businesses and the public.
As for the government’s role, Ko pointed out that it is impossible to ask the government to do everything. However, what it can do is to provide the people and businesses with a platform where they can exercise their potentials. He also believes in having city employees to exercise their skills freely, because it is not realistic to have all initiatives coming from the mayor. He encourages city workers to contribute their expertise to the overall effort.
Talking about the recent challenges to the concept and mechanism of democracy, the mayor pointed out that he believes that a possible way to solve the dilemma is through “openness.” The concept of Gov 3.0, which sports “open government, public participation, and transparency,” allows the voices of the public to be heard, inviting them to participate and making the process more transparent to all.
Regarding the boom in app development, the mayor noted that both private and public sectors are coming up with their own apps related with Taipei City. He instructed the Department of Information to place apps from both sectors onto the same platform, creating something in the lines of a “Roman Coliseum,” presenting all available options before the public and let them choose for themselves.
Ko also discussed his vision of implementing the use of tablets and inclusion of internet course in the curriculum from elementary school through high school. Schools will be given the priority in receiving funding related with the smart city and digitization projects.