Taiwanese display super hi-tech gadgets at Innovation Show

By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-THE St. Kitts Marriott Hotel and Resort’s St. Vincent Conference Room was abuzz this weekend as technology junkies received their fill of sleek and innovative devices at the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) 2008 Innovation Show.

Among the cutting edge items on display at the show were condensed size travel laptops, induction cook tops smaller than one square foot but able to heat items up to 200 degrees Celsius, and a home security webcam which can broadcast live streaming video onto the internet so an individual could check on his/her family and possessions from anywhere in the world.

Taiwan’s ambassador to St. Kitts-Nevis, His Excellency Rong-chuan Wu used the opening ceremony of the exhibition to highlight the important role technology has played in his country’s success in the global marketplace.

“Divided by population, Taiwan exports about US $10,000 in goods per person each year…We are the world’s number one supplier of notebook computers, PDAs (personal digital assistants) and LCD screens for televisions and computers.”

Being a small island nation themselves, Wu said he hoped the Innovation Show would serve to inspire St. Kitts and Nevis’ entrepreneurs to excel even though they may not have the same resources available as some larger nations do.

“We [Taiwan] are small but we are sincere and we are contributing to the world in a significant way.”

Taiwan is currently ranked as the sixteenth highest exporter in the world, despite being home to twenty-three million people.

Minister of Finance, International Trade, Industry & Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris said that the people of Federation could learn a lot from the ingenuity of their closest ally, as “all successful countries are involved in the export of at least some goods”.

“We can see in the Taiwanese the importance of trading in the global economy and the more we can invest in development, the more benefits we will receive in return,” Harris said.

The minister also took time to mention the shortly expected signing of the CARIFORUM-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement as one potential route for St. Kitts-Nevis to enhance its involvement in international trade and export.

Aside from business persons and guests of the Marriott, the three-day Innovation Show saw a number of diplomats turning out to learn more about Taiwan’s exports including the Governor General, His Excellency Sir Cuthbert Sebastian; the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Sam Condor; Parliamentary Representative former Minister of National Security, Dwyer Astaphan and a number of St. Kitts-Nevis’ residing ambassadors.   

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