President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of September 30 attended the opening of the 2011 Taipei World Design Expo, and also cut the ribbon opening the Taiwan Design Museum. The president expressed his hope that the interaction brought by the event will enhance the awareness of a design aesthetic among the public, helping Taiwan to keep in step with global design trends and market its creative abilities in the international arena.
In remarks at the event, the president said that Taiwan's economy in the past relied mainly on efficiency in the manufacturing sector to ensure its success. The financial tsunami, however, led to a recession, which helped to highlight the importance of developing our own brand names and developing innovative products and services, he said. In May of last year, the president pointed out, the government passed the Act for Industrial Innovation to encourage industry to boost innovation and generate momentum in innovative design.
The president remarked that Taiwan desires to promote an economic recovery with Taiwan characteristics, with one feature of this being innovation. He said the government hopes to lay the groundwork to transform Taiwan from an efficiency-driven economy to an innovation-driven economy. Taiwan must take action if it desires to catch up with the rest of the world and be a leader in this respect in the future.
President Ma recognized the achievements of Taiwan's young designers in recent years at international design competitions, including Germany's iF and red dot awards. He said this proves the unlimited potential of Taiwan's innovative design talent, who will be the key factor in promoting industrial transition. The president commented that on September 29 he outlined his vision for a "golden decade" for the ROC, and emphasizing innovation is an important facet of efforts to achieve a "robust economy." President Ma hopes that the public will work to create greater added value, helping to enhance Taiwan's international competitiveness.
President Ma stated that the Ministry of Economic Affairs has renamed its National Design Award the Golden Pin Design Award and has adopted the catchphrase, "Today's Golden Pin (金點) is tomorrow's classic (經典)." The new version of the awards has been introduced in tandem with the holding of 2011 IDA Congress Taipei. He said he hopes everyone will maximize their creativity, helping to forge greater opportunities and momentum into Taiwan's innovation-driven economy.
The 2011 Taipei World Design Expo is being held at three venues, namely the Songshan Cultural & Creative Park, the Nangang Exhibition Hall, and the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1. Six international exhibitions are being held at the Songshan Cultural & Creative Park, including the Theme Exhibition, the International Industrial Design Exhibition, the International Graphic Design Exhibition, the International Interior Design Exhibition, the International Craft Design Exhibition, and the Interdisciplinary Creative Works on Asia's Cultural Creativity Exhibition. Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球), Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), and Taiwan Design Center Chairman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛) also attended the opening activities today.