President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of June 4 with a delegation led by World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Chairman Santiago Gutierrez, who hails from Mexico. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a warm welcome to the delegation and praised WITSA for its contributions to the global technology industry.
In remarks, the president noted that WITSA was founded in 1978 and is the world's largest consortium of information technology industry associations. In addition to promoting the application of information technology and seeking increased interaction and cooperation among participants in the worldwide IT industry, the alliance also urges governments throughout the world to abolish trade barriers and promote industrial liberalization, he noted. Over the past 35 years, the president said, IT industry associations from 85 nations have become members of the alliance, with the Information Service Industry Association of ROC (CISA) representing the ROC. WITSA, the president added, is the ideal bridge linking Taiwan's information service industry and the international market.
President Ma explained that the CISA was established in 1983 and over the past three decades has steadfastly promoted the development of Taiwan's information service industry. The organization has played a vital role by helping the government create an information-oriented society, the president said, adding that it has also promoted interaction and cooperation between the information service industries in Taiwan and around the world. Citing the enormous contributions of CISA, the president expressed hope that the organization in the future will continue to promote Taiwan's ICT sector on the international stage, thereby enhancing the global competitiveness of Taiwan's information software industry.
The president mentioned that information and communications infrastructure, along with IT, has long been a focal point of Taiwan's economic development policies. In 2011, he pointed out, the nominal GDP of Taiwan's ICT industry rose to US$60 billion, or about 13% of Taiwan's total GDP that year. This highlights the importance of the ICT industry to Taiwan's economic development, he said.
President Ma remarked that upon becoming Taipei City mayor in 1998, he began promoting the concept of "frequent the net, free up the road" as part of an effort to build Taipei into a cybercity. This project included establishing WiFi throughout the city and expanding fiber optic networks. In addition, he said, the plan called for schools to incorporate the Internet into classroom education. For instance, he noted, computers could be used to teach students calligraphy. Consequently, the Internet would be used not only to preserve traditional culture, but also to provide students an opportunity to learn about computer applications. These efforts have been a great success, he commented.
The president stated that the latest Networked Readiness Index in the Global Information Technology Report 2013 published by the World Economic Forum in April of this year ranked Taiwan 10th in the world and second in Asia. This outstanding result stems from the joint efforts of the public sector as well as private industry, he said.
President Ma mentioned that the World Conference on International Telecommunications was held in Taipei in 2000, attracting over 800 important individuals to Taiwan from the information industry the world over. The president pointed out that he attended the conference that year as the mayor of the host city. In addition, in 2002, he said, he led a delegation to Adelaide, Australia to accept a Global ICT Excellence Award in the category of Public Sector Excellence. What's more, he noted, the Taipei City government in 2002 and 2012 was again awarded the Public Sector Excellence Award, while in 2006 it was singled out as the Intelligent Community of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum. This highlights the efforts of Taiwan's government over the years to promote the development of information technology, thus winning accolades for the nation, the president said.
The delegation also included WITSA Secretary General James H. Poisant from the United States, Treasurer Amado Espinosa from Mexico, Vice Chairmen Roger Latchman, Nizar Zakka, Boris Komrakov, and Takashi Igarashi, respectively from South Africa, Lebanon, Belarus, and Japan. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by CISA Chairman James Liu (劉瑞隆) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General John C. C. Deng (鄧振中) and Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shih-Chao Cho (卓士昭 ).