Marking a new milestone! The Taichung City Government's Bureau of Digital Governance was officially renamed the "Bureau of Digital Development" today (1st), with an unveiling ceremony held this morning. Mayor Shiu-Yen Lu attended the ceremony and stated that since establishing the Bureau of Digital Governance two years ago, Taichung has strategically upgraded from "governance" to "development" on its digital transformation foundation. The Bureau of Digital Development will focus on AI, sustainability, and digital transformation trends, not only continuing to provide various digital public services but also collaborating with industry, government, academia, and research sectors to transform Taichung's valuable digital transformation experience into digital industry development, furthering "Smart Taichung's" progress.

Mayor Lu said that Taichung is a livable and vibrant city with a population exceeding 2.86 million, and it was recently rated as Taiwan's happiest city in multiple surveys. Facing global digital transformation and international AI trends, she proposed the strategic goal that "digital power is urban competitiveness," applying digital technology to city governance and pioneering the establishment of the "Bureau of Digital Governance" among local governments nationwide. The bureau was the first department established during her term and the city government's 30th department, now advancing further with its renaming to the "Bureau of Digital Development" to collaborate with industry, government, academia, and research sectors in advancing Taichung's smart city construction.

Mayor Lu also mentioned that over the past two years, the Bureau of Digital Governance created the digital citizen platform "Taichung Pass" (TCPASS), serving not only significant events like the Taichung Shopping Festival, Taichung Grill Festival, and 2024 Taichung International Racing Exhibition but also integrating online applications, payment services, petitions, and vaccine appointments. The app has become popular among citizens, with over 2.8 million downloads, and has received multiple international awards. Regarding transparent governance and open government, the bureau has also actively promoted GIS applications and open data, receiving numerous national awards and establishing a solid foundation for "Smart Taichung."

Mayor Lu noted that urban digital development is not limited to internal governance but includes development work requiring external collaboration. Therefore, the "Bureau of Digital Governance" has been officially renamed the "Bureau of Digital Development," with former Digital Governance Bureau Director Gu-long Lin continuing in his role. The Bureau of Digital Development will build upon the Bureau of Digital Governance's achievements while transforming Taichung's valuable digital transformation experience into a continuously developing digital industry, collaborating with industry, academia, and research sectors to develop Smart Taichung further!

Mayor Lu also stated that the organizational business adjustment of the Bureau of Digital Development was not an easy task. She expressed hope for continued guidance from academia. She thanked legislators, council members, and all citizens for their support during the organizational adjustment process, as the changes required council approval of the self-governance ordinance for today's establishment of the Bureau of Digital Development. She also thanked the bureau staff for their hard work, affirming that the city government will continue advancing toward urban digital development to make Taichung even more innovative.

Bureau of Digital Development Director Gu-long Lin stated that the bureau's primary task is implementing sustainable net-zero policies through shared server rooms, networks, and virtual platforms to reduce energy consumption. Building on the Taichung Pass platform, they will establish a "Net-zero Life Digital Points Platform" offering reward points to encourage citizens to implement carbon reduction in daily life and practice ESG actions.

Director Lin said that facing increasingly severe cybersecurity challenges, the original Digital Convergence Section will be renamed the "Network Security Section." To protect government information and personal data security and enhance digital resilience, the bureau collaborates with the National Center for High-Performance Computing under the National Science Council to initiate national-level backup mechanisms, aligning with central government cybersecurity policies. They partner with industry, government, academia, and research sectors to strengthen cybersecurity protection. They actively promote zero-trust architecture implementation in various agencies' information systems to enhance government network service security comprehensively.

Director Lin indicated that after establishing the Bureau of Digital Development, they would more actively engage with various sectors to advance Smart Taichung's development. In late January, they will partner with Tunghai University to hold an "AI Superman Digital Camp" at Pingdeng Elementary School in  Huanshan  Village, Heping District - Taichung's most remote area - allowing mountain children to receive the same AI education as urban areas. They also plan to host the first Smart Taichung Digital Development Forum in early February, inviting international scholars to focus on AI, cybersecurity, and sustainable development themes. This will bring together industry, government, academia, and research sectors to focus on Central Taiwan's industry's latest practices in three-axis transformation and look ahead to 2025 trends, grasping concrete action plans for various industries' evolutionary competitiveness in the AI era.

After attending the city government's New Year's Day flag-raising ceremony, Mayor Lu presided over the inauguration of the Bureau of Digital Development. Attendees included Deputy Mayors Kuo-Jung Huang, Shu-Hui Lai, and Zhao-Xin Cheng; City Government Secretary-General Chong-Dian Huang; Deputy Secretary-General Yu-Hong Lin; Legislative Yuan Deputy Speaker Chi-Chen Chiang; Legislators Chiung-Ying Yang, Wei-Hsiang Liao, and Chien-Hao Huang; City Councilors Chung Li, Yu-Lien Shen, Pei-Han Lin, Ai-Shan Chiu, Cheng-Hsien Chen, Hsin-Hui Huang, and Shih-Chou Liu; Bureau of Digital Development Director Gu-Long Lin; numerous city government department heads; as well as Nantou County Planning Department Director Shao-Wei Chiu; Yunlin County Deputy Planning Director Min-Feng Liao; Lecheng Temple Chairman Min-Cheng Ho; Taichung University of Science and Technology President Tong-Hsiao Chen; Vice President Ching-Wei Cheng; Tunghai University Vice President Chia-Hsiu Chang; former Feng Chia University President and Distinguished Professor Bing-Jean Lee; Institute for Information Industry Director Jung-San Lee; Microsoft Taiwan General Manager Shou-Cheng Chen; Taichung Computer Association Chairman Chun-Chung Wu; and numerous district and village chiefs, all gathering to witness this new chapter in Taichung's digital development.