Institute for Information Industry (III) Assists APEC Member Economies in Reducing Digital Divide
Central News Agency2004-9-23 21:08
(Telephone report by Chen Shun Hsieh, Central News Agency, September 23, 2004)
To assist member economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in reducing the digital divide, the Institute for Information Industry (III) responsible for the long-term planning of Chinese Taipei’s IT industry development, has been tasked by MOEA Minister Ho Mei-Yueh to cooperate with Vietnam and five other APEC economies. Ho says that the Institute has successfully brought about the development of the local IT industry, and she is hoping that with its assistance, these six economies may be able to reduce the digital divide and bring about the development of the IT industry there.
III has been designated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to carry out the APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) scheme. The primary goal is to make full use of the advantages offered by Chinese Taipei’s information and telecommunication industries as well as the extensive experience of the Institute to assist APEC member economies in reducing the digital divide and transforming it into a digital opportunity.
Ho Mei-Yueh says that the ADOC scheme will capitalize on the successful experience that Chinese Taipei has had in developing its IT industry, to help APEC member economies reduce the digital divide in their economies. Currently, economies which have been selected for the model scheme include Vietnam, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Chile, and Peru. Ho hopes that through this scheme, Chinese Taipei will be able to lay the foundations of digitalization and see its efforts become successful in these economies.
III estimates that by October, Ke Jye-Sheng President of III, Huang Guo-Jiunn Assistant Director at III, and E- commerce Research Institute Director, Gong Reng-Weng, will each lead a Delegation Group. Delegations, with members from III as well as from the information and telecommunication industry, will visit each of these six economies for a period of two weeks, where they will hold conferences and observation tours to assist the governments of these economies in reducing the digital divide in their respective economies. To show the ministry’s prioritization of the scheme, Ho Mei-Yueh personally handed over the flag of responsibility to Huang Guo-Jiunn and expressed hopes that the Institute can put its best foot forward in building an influential base in the Asia-Pacific region for Chinese Taipei and assist its information and telecommunications industries in increasing its international business opportunities and create more winning scenarios.