Taiwan Shines at Expo 2025 with TECH WORLD Pavilion
このページを 日本語 で読む
The "TECH WORLD" pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai is hosted by a Taiwanese private company. Despite not being part of the national exhibitions, it is attracting considerable attention for showcasing Taiwan's presence on the global stage. We joined a tour group of about 150 Taiwanese visitors to find out more.
On April 14, the second day of the Expo, the skies cleared after a rainy opening day. The TECH WORLD pavilion stood out on the expo grounds under the sun with its striking design, inspired by Taiwan's majestic mountain ranges. Inside the "TECH WORLD" pavilion with moving screens. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura)
Inside, visitors are greeted by 560 screens arranged like flowers moving in unison. A cylindrical display projects vivid imagery of Taiwan's diverse natural landscapes. These visuals, combined with forest scents and smoke effects, create a multisensory experience that blends advanced technology with the beauty of Taiwan's nature.
Each visitor receives a wristband that tracks their heart rate throughout the experience. At the end of the tour, a QR code reveals more information on the exhibits that resonated most, based on their physiological response.
Former Minister of Health Twu Shiing-jer commented, "I feel very proud. It's unfortunate that Taiwan couldn't participate as a country, but I'm very grateful to Japan. The pavilion does an excellent job of showcasing Taiwan's semiconductor technology as well." Taiwanese visitors watch a presentation. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura)
Ruth Chang, Executive Director of the "TECH WORLD" pavilion, said approximately 3,000 visitors attended on the first day alone.
"The very first visitors were Taiwanese. Some were moved to tears," she commented. "We want this to be a powerful opportunity to showcase Taiwan's strength in semiconductor technology."
Because Taiwan is not a member of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), it is participating under the name of a private company — Tamayama Digital Tech Co, Ltd. The pavilion is listed simply as "TECH WORLD" on venue maps, with no mention of Taiwan's name or flag. Kaohsiung City Councilor Tiunn Phok-iong with Expo 2025 souvenirs. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura)
Justin Tseng, a Taiwan native living in Hong Kong, also attended. He had previously visited World Expos in Hanover (2000), Aichi (2005), and Shanghai (2010).
"Expos are windows into the future, and I have high hopes for this one," he shared. "Although this is a private exhibit, I hope Taiwan will one day participate as an officially recognized country."
Kaohsiung City Councilor Tiunn Phok-iong, after touring the pavilion, commented, "The Expo is a stage where countries showcase their national strength. It's unfortunate that Taiwan's name cannot be used, but this is still a valuable opportunity to show our presence."
He also remarked, "It would have been nice to see more emphasis on Taiwan in the exhibits."
In conjunction with the Expo's opening, a Taiwan festival was held on April 12 and 13 in Osaka's Umeda district. Organized by the Indo-Pacific Strategy Think Tank (IPST), led by CEO Akio Yaita, the event aimed to highlight Taiwan as a unique and independent culture. Many of the Taiwanese tour participants also went to the festival. Taiwanese tour participants pose for a photo at the Taiwan festival. (©JAPAN Forward Mika Sugiura)
Tuo Liu, Deputy Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka, attended the festival's opening ceremony. He said, "Taiwan and Osaka have a close and supportive relationship. Taiwan is actively investing in Japan's IT industry — we complement each other. Taiwan fully supports the Expo." A girl poses for a photo at the Taiwan festival. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura)
The festival attracted not only Taiwanese visitors and residents but also many locals. They enjoyed live performances by Taiwanese artists and more. Although Taiwan could not officially participate as a nation, the Expo has undoubtedly deepened the connection between Taiwan and Japan. A Taiwanese artist performing at the festival. (©JAPAN Forward by Mika Sugiura)
Author: Mika Sugiura
このページを 日本語 で読む
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Indonesia stops nickel mining operations at top tourist diving destination
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Indonesian government announced Tuesday they had suspended four nickel mining operations in Raja Ampat, one of the country's top tourist destinations for diving and snorkeling. 'Starting today, the government has revoked four mining operation permits in Raja Ampat,' Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in the presidential palace in the capital, Jakarta. Raja Ampat, an archipelagic regency in Southwest Papua province, is spread over nearly 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles) and is home to 75% of the world's coral species and more than 1,600 fish species. It is a designated UNESCO Global Geopark which includes marine conservation zones managed by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. Lahadalia said the decision came after an investigation by the Ministry of Environment uncovered 'several violations in the environmental context' by four companies holding mining permits in Raja Ampat. None of the four companies had started nickel operations as they failed to gain government approval for their Work Plan and Expenditure Budget, Lahadalia said. Last week, Greenpeace Indonesia and Papuan Youth staged a peaceful protest during the Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference & Expo. They demanded the closure of five nickel mining companies operating in Raja Ampat, including PT Gag Nikel, a subsidiary of state-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang. The government suspended nickel mining operations at four of the five companies. The fifth, Gag Nikel, has been allowed to continue its operations on Gag Island as it lies outside the geopark area, Lahadalia said. Gag Island is about 42 kilometers (26 miles) west of Piyanemo, a popular diving spot in Raja Ampat. Gag Nikel has a concession area of 130 square kilometers (50 square miles). It produced around 3 million wet metric tons of nickel in 2024, and is expected to produce the same amount in 2025 and 2026. Lahadalia said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed him, along with ministers for the environment and forestry, to closely monitor Gag Nikel's mining operation. 'We are really serious in our intent to protect the environment in Raja Ampat,' Lahadalia said. 'We want to produce nickel that is environmentally friendly and acceptable (to the world's standard).' Indonesia has the largest nickel reserves in the world and aims to dominate global nickel supply. Its nickel ore lies in shallow deposits, easily accessible when the rainforest is cut down. In 2023, the country was responsible for more than half the supply of nickel globally. The country has gone from having two nickel smelters to 27 over the last decade and plans to open 22 more, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Nickel was once known mainly for making stainless steel, but demand has skyrocketed as automakers like Tesla use it to make electric vehicle batteries and larger battery makers use it in clean electricity projects. Rapid growth of Indonesia's nickel industry has already led to environmental degradation across several regions on Sulawesi Island, said Greenpeace forest campaigner Iqbal Damanik. 'Now nickel mining is also threatening Raja Ampat, a place that is often called the last paradise on Earth,' Damanik said. Over 500 hectares of forest and vegetation have been cleared for nickel mines on the West Papua islands of Gag, Kawe and Manuran, according to Greenpeace Indonesia. The three islands are classified as small islands. Indonesia's law on the management of coastal areas and small islands prohibits mining as it could lead to soil runoff and sedimentation that endangers coral reefs and marine ecosystems.
Cision Canada
3 days ago
- Cision Canada
Zoomlion Advances Intelligent Agricultural Machinery and Upgrades Service Support to Safeguard Summer Grain Harvest
, June 9, 2025 /CNW/ -- Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zoomlion"; is spearheading all-out efforts to safeguard the summer harvest as China's "Three Summer" jobs – summer harvesting, planting, and field management – are now in full swing. In the Changzhuang Town of Suiping County, Zhumadian City, Henan Province, Zoomlion's grain combine harvesters are the "vanguards" of high-quality harvesting; while in Anhui, the brand's PL80 crawler-type harvester achieved outstanding results in the mechanical harvesting loss reduction skills competition as well. Zhang Xiaobo, a combine harvester driver in Suiping with over a decade of experience, is operating Zoomlion TE100-DH this summer, the first hybrid power harvester in China. "The harvester is powered by an electric motor, offering fast response times and simplified gear shifting. It can adjust power output intelligently to keep the engine running at optimal conditions, resulting in fuel savings of 30% compared to traditional models," said Zhang Xiaobo. "The TE100-DH not only has very low failure rate, Zoomlion's after-safes team can also respond 24 hours a day to guarantee the harvesting." As the agricultural industry continues to evolve, Zoomlion's intelligent technologies are advancing the agricultural jobs to reach new heights. By leveraging the BeiDou positioning system alongside AI-driven path planning, automatic obstacle avoidance, and remote instruction capabilities, Zoomlion's unmanned harvesting machines have achieved impressive precision and efficiency, leading to significantly increased harvest yields. Moreover, Zoomlion has transformed its service offerings by implementing comprehensive digital and intelligent strategies. The company has innovated its service system to boost operational efficiency by establishing an intelligent control center, four service columns, and four support centers. Additionally, it has expanded its network with 107 new standard agricultural machinery service stations to ensure complete coverage and formed a large-scale service team of 2,200 professionals dedicated to providing quick responses, on-site assistance, and immediate troubleshooting. "We have successfully completed the construction of our integrated warehousing system, which includes a central factory, provincial airports, city-level centers, dealers, mobile spare parts support vehicles, and direct service spare parts packages. Through the ZBP service spare parts system, WMS warehouse management system, and TMS logistics visualization system, we have fully achieved digital processing, intelligent resource coordination, and enhanced customer service visibility. This has significantly improved the speed and timeliness of our service spare parts supply," said Huo Xiaofeng, Co-General Manager of Zoomlion Agriculture Machinery Co., Ltd.
Calgary Herald
6 days ago
- Calgary Herald
White: Downtown West End undergoing transformation to an urban village
The 'in' word in city building these days is 'transformation' or 'transformative.' You will see it being used when it comes to Arts Commons' expansion and renovation plans, and the Glenbow Museum's transformation into the JR Shaw Arts Centre. It has also been associated with the city of Calgary's 'office to residential' conversions, which hopefully will transform downtown Calgary into a more attractive place for Calgarians to live. Article content Perhaps the biggest transformation in Calgary these days is what is happening in Downtown West End, the blocks west of 6th Street to 14th Street S.W. and from the Bow River to 9th Avenue S.W. By my count, there are at least 10 major 'community enhancing' projects either under construction or in the works that have the potential to transform it into a vibrant urban village. Let's have a look. Article content Article content Article content Toggle full screen modePrevious Gallery Image Next Gallery ImageToggle gallery captions View All 4 Photos 1 of 4 Article content Article content The majority of Calgary's downtown office conversions are within a few blocks of downtown's 8th Avenue S.W. corridor that is an important pedestrian link for those living in the Beltline to walk into downtown and access the LRT station, Bow River and other downtown amenities. The city has plans to enhance this important pedestrian corridor from the Bow River to 17th Avenue. There are eight conversions to residential and one to a hotel, which will hopefully add 1,500 more people living in downtown's west end. Will this be enough to transform it into an urban village? Only time will tell. Article content Article content Contemporary Calgary has major expansion plans for its building (formerly the Centennial Planetarium) as well as plans to create an art park between the gallery and the 4th Avenue freeway. It might even include the relocation of the Family of Man sculpture. The 21-foot tall, thin dancing figures would be a great gateway to the gallery and art park next to the former planetarium building, which coincidentally was also a 1967 Centennial project. Article content Backstory: After Expo '67 was over, the piece was auctioned off and Calgary businessman Maxwell Cummings purchased it and gifted it to the city. The city decided to place the figures on the lawn in front of the now empty Calgary Board of Education Building as part of a failed 1960s downtown revitalization scheme. Ironically, the sculptures are part of the Calgary Board of Education's logo even though its head office is now in the Beltline.
