Department of Cultural Affairs

By Psyche Cho
STAFF REPORTER

During his inauguration as the sixth Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs for Taipei City February 1, Dr. Liu Wei-gong expressed his hopes for helping to build a creative Taipei.

"A city's greatest competitive potential lies in creativity," Liu told reporters during a press conference the same day. "The charm of Taipei is demonstrated in its small lanes and allies and in its residents' diligent living attitude," said Liu, adding that "through which we can see an abundance of design energy."

As part of his ideal for the city, Taipei will submit a bid for World Design Capital (WDC) 2016. Organized by the International Council for Societies of Industrial Design, WDC is a biennial city promotion project that celebrates the accomplishments of cities achieved by means of design in improving social, cultural and economic life.

Having earned visibility in the international community after successfully hosting several major events like the International Design Congress last year, Taipei is ready to go after the honor of being named WDC.

The newly-installed commissioner said that striving for the title could bring richer fruit than expected. Not only will design circles benefit, but the lives of residents will also be uplifted. "It will be a social campaign that will change the city," Liu said.

To outshine the other 50 or so contestants, several initial approaches have been outlined to highlight Taipei's edges. The focus would be on 'design's contribution to the city' and vice versa, as well as the correlation between the city and designers, Liu told reporters.

"I have noted that a number of Taipei-based designers derive their works from lifestyles in the city," said Liu. He cited the signal countdown device at busy corners for pedestrians and facilities designed for the elderly, just to name a few.

Among other major policies, Liu plans to build a 'cultural cloud computing' mechanism for the city. The cloud will serve as a platform for social media that enables policies and information to reach targeted receivers seamlessly, he said.

A specialist in sociology, Liu holds a Ph.D from the University of Trier in Germany and was an associate professor at the Department of Sociology, Soochow University, before assuming his current position.