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"China Data Processing Center" was originally the Data
Processing Center of Council of U.S. Aid, Executive Yuan. In 1963, the council
was disbanded, and the Executive Yuan set up the Council for International
Economic Cooperation and Development (today’s Council for Economic Planning and
Development) which funded NTD1 million to establish the "China Data Processing
Center". In 1967, the Center was renamed as "China Computer Center"
to meet the demand of information development. An NPO founded with full
government fund, CDPC has the objectives of compliance with government
information development policy, assisting in the elevation of Taiwan's industries' management using information,
industrial automation and its application development. With these, it was hoped
to facilitate the improvement on industrial structure, actuate economic
transformation and enhance the industries’ competitive edges in global market.
In the creation of Taiwan's economic development wonder, CDPC played
significant role, whose contribution to the nation was evident. GIS Center inherits CDPC with the information services it provided. In future, apart from
the existed services, TGIC will also serve as a weigh-carrying bridge between Taiwan's industrial, governing and
academic sectors in respect to geotechnology. It will assist the government in
promoting the geotechnology applications and related industrial development.
This will help the government continue to enhance its administrative efficacy,
while Taiwan's
geotechnology industries will continue to grow and prosper with government’s
policy supports. It is also envisaged Taiwan becomes, with the help from geotechnology think
tank in academia, a beautiful island fulfilling sustainable development in
twenty first century.
A 2004 US Labor Department research report indicates that in
the fifteen years ahead, geotechnology along with biotechnology and
nanotechnology will become the three most potential new technology-based
industries. Hence, the US government has devoted massive manpower and means to developing them, and has gained satisfactory
results. Taiwan government also has devoted a considerable amount of efforts to biotechnology
and nanotechnology, which industries, both new, are to be Taiwan's stars-to-be among
technology industries. However, of equal importance, geotechnology industry
receives less than enough manpower and means. Fortunately, this development
tendency had attention from CEPD, who thus charged its affiliate, China Data
Processing Center to start planning on transformation into Taiwan Geographic Information System Center.
With over a year’s effort, the first step was made—rename completed smoothly and
more than twenty geotechnology experts joining this center. More than fifty
scholars in geotechnology-related areas further were invited to become
consultants to the Center to assist in its future development.
On Feb. 27, 2008, China Data Processing Center completed the
rename procedure and was officially renamed as Taiwan Geographic Information
System Center (TGIC). TGIC, after being renamed, besides preserving old tasks
its former body undertook, is charged with new tasks, which are to promote
geotechnology application and development, including promotion and application
of geotechnology, GPS technology and telemetry technology. TGIC will become a
bridge between industrial, governing and academic sectors in Taiwan, and shall
assist the government in building NGIS, and private enterprises in developing
geotechnology industries, as well as cooperate with academic institutions in
Taiwan or abroad to jointly develop prediction, simulation and spatial analysis
online service model base. These are to increase both government and private
enterprises’ application efficacy in geospatial information, thus to position Taiwan among leading nations in
geotechnology.
Presently TGIC has formed professional teams to provide
professional counseling and consultation on geotechnology and to assist CEPD in
realizing the ten-year NGIS project approved by the Executive Yuan. A most
prospective service oriented architecture among current information technologies
will be used as the core to work with the e-government platform, which is
promoted by Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, Executive Yuan, to
speed up Taiwan’s spatial information infrastructure, so that governments of all
levels can obtain online the geospatial information they need in real time
whereby to upgrade their planning and decision efficacies. TGIC has another
important task, which is to assist the government in promoting geotechnology
industrial development. TGIC will assist CEPD in planning, in collaboration with
Ministry of Economic Affairs, the promotion strategy and action plan on this
industry with purpose of boosting geotechnology industry’s growth. TGIC will
also cooperate with noteworthy universities in Taiwan
and overseas to make itself an important geotechnology think tank, and to sum up
academia’s research results and transfer them to Taiwan's geospatial information consultancies so as to
enhance their international competitive ability.
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