President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of September 2 at the Presidential Office with student and teacher representatives of the Taiwan teams that won platinum awards at the International Schools CyberFair for their websites on various local themes. The president encouraged everyone to continue in their pursuit of success and to use information technology as a means to enable the international community to understand Taiwan's enormous creativity and vitality.
President Ma commented that 138 teams from Asia, Europe, and the Americas participated in this year's International Schools CyberFair, and of the 115 awards that were presented, teams from Taiwan captured 11 platinums, 19 golds, 12 silvers, and six honorable mentions, for a total of 48 awards. This is an outstanding performance, he said, adding that this displays the Taiwan students’ sophisticated ability to use information technology. The themes of their websites emphasized concern for their local communities and daily life, and exhibited tremendous creativity and vitality.
The president stated that Taiwan does not have many natural resources and is visited by frequent natural disasters. It is precisely because of these challenges that everyone realizes the importance of education. Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times, once stated that while Taiwan is small, it has been able to tap into its intellectual resources to create the degree of wealth it enjoys and handle the cross-strait relationship in a peaceful manner.
The president remarked that in November of last year and in April of this year representatives from Taiwan won top prizes at invention exhibits in Nuremberg, Germany and Geneva, Switzerland, and many of the winners from Taiwan were students. The president said that while still quite young, they were able to integrate innovation and utility, which is quite impressive. Meanwhile, at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the United States this year, a total of 1,257 projects created by 1,611 students from throughout the world were displayed. Ten students and eight projects from Taiwan were entered, and between them won seven prizes, meaning that 87.5% of the projects submitted from Taiwan won awards, which far exceeded the average winning ratio at the ISEF of 30%. In addition, 90% of the students from Taiwan participating in the event won prizes, which is an impressive accomplishment, he said.
President Ma furthermore stated that 72.6% of Taiwan's population is able to use computers, while 84% of households have computers and 78% of households use the Internet. Each day, 13.75 million people, accounting for over half of Taiwan's population, spend over three hours on the Internet. This data points to the widespread use of information technology here. The president added that children these days are increasingly familiar with the use of network technology applications. For instance, the awarded websites this time focusing on such subjects as Longshan Temple, puppet theater, and martial arts made use of information technology to promote and pass along traditional culture. The president also noted how Xing Ya Elementary School in Taipei City uses computers to teach calligraphy. This is an example of using modern technology to preserve traditional culture, he said.
The president said that the power of information is unlimited. Individuals can use their own abilities to overcome groups, and smaller nations can win out over larger counterparts. He added that he hopes everyone will continue with their efforts, using their mental powers and imagination to create even more opportunities to show the world the vitality of Taiwan.
The students and teachers were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Deputy Minister of Education Chen I-hsing and Taiwan Information Technology Education Development Association Chairman Chen Yu-chu to meet President Ma. Also attending the event was Deputy Secretary-General to the President Liu Bao-guey.