Having begun construction in Nov. 2016 according to plans drawn up by Taiwan’s Executive Yuan, the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City in Tainan integrates the capabilities of 13 ministries, including MOST, MOEA, and the National Defense Council. MOST is responsible for the construction and operation of Shalun’s Joint Research Center, and on April 24th organized the opening ceremony of the Cyber Security and Smart Technology R&D Building, as well as the “Girls in CyberSecurity” Award Ceremony, which honors students interested in the industry both at the high school and university levels. The facilities will soon integrate those of the existing Taiwan CAR Lab, further integrating it into the cyber security and smart technology fields.

Minister of Science and Technology, Wu Tsung-Tsong, indicated that people are the center of the nation’s science and technology development, and in Nov. 2016, as President Tsai held discussions with cyber security teams and high school students, she proposed four key resources, including fomenting local cyber security, north-south regional balance, cyber security entrepreneurship, and promoting women in the industry. These policies hope to train more women since their student years to gradually enter science and technology fields. Together with the Executive Yuan’s Board of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education, MOST organized the “Girls in CyberSecurity” competition in hopes to spark that initial interest, coupled with more measures to encourage women in the industry’s future, and proving that they have a place in the development of smart technologies.

The 1st “Girls in CyberSecurity” competition combines regional cyber security development with new technological applications such as smart living and automated vehicles. It encourages female students to further familiarize themselves with the industry through two competitive tracks: “Breakthroughs in Cyber Security" and "Creative Minds Compete". The finals were held on April 24th at the Cyber Security and Smart Technology R&D Building, where competition was rather fierce after a total of 1,480 students had signed up. Winners of the “Breakthroughs in Cyber Security” track were team “Does the government know that it is difficult for teammates to find school seniors and are afraid of being interviewed?” in the High School category, and team “I don’t know” in the Higher Education category. Likewise, winners of the “Creative Minds Compete” track were team “Taipei First Girls High School Research Club 2nd x 3rd” in the High School category, and team “SHERO” in the Higher Education category.

The Cyber Security and Smart Technology R&D Building is equipped with facilities to focus on cyber security technology, smart transportation, smart health and smart living, and will set up training academies and collaboration bases for cyber security, along with a control base, a smart transportation simulation platform, and the Taiwan Tech Arena SOUTH (TTA SOUTH). Other spaces will attract manufacturers of the industry for undertaking co-creation and R&D with associates and other international manufacturer, providing complete one-stop and product verification services for resident manufacturers. Such service spaces will play a major role of incubating potential projects that will shape Taiwan’s vital cyber security and smart industry clusters.

On the same day, a symposium and luncheon on cyber security and smart technology development was held to introduce Shalun’s Joint Research Center and to gather ideas, and also held seminars on information security and smart technology to gather ideas on how associates, southern universities, surrounding science and industrial parks, and resources from industry, government, academia, and research can all utilize the new R&D building to accelerate such development. Through this, Taiwan can become an important base in the Asia-Pacific region for these industries by further digitalizing them and balancing the development gap between northern and southern regions.

Forming part of the national government's "Five Plus Two Industry Innovation Plan", the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City lies the high-speed rail’s Tainan Station – a node within the green energy technology corridor. Under the Executive Yuan’s commission, plus the resources and mutual cooperation of various ministries and committees, will all aid in fulfilling President Tsai’s strategy of “continual strengthening of information and digital related industries”, “integrating industries of the 5G era, digital transformation and national security”, and “accelerating the development of green and renewable energy industry”