Day two of the GTI show in Taiwan and the jet lag kicked in mid-afternoon. Strange, since I was fine yesterday. The show has got smaller and quieter in the last few years, due mainly to the rise of the two trade shows on mainland China. Staying at a boutique hotel which is just a five-minute walk fr
Day two of the GTI show in Taiwan and the jet lag kicked in mid-afternoon. Strange, since I was fine yesterday. The show has got smaller and quieter in the last few years, due mainly to the rise of the two trade shows on mainland China. Staying at a boutique hotel which is just a five-minute walk from the convention centre - no messing around waiting for taxis at the end of the show. Maggie Lynch, who makes all the travel arrangements for the InterGame mob, had said: “You won’t like this hotel - it doesn’t have a bar.” Dunno what she was trying to say really. But you know what? It doesn’t matter - there’s a great sports pub across the street and a TGI Fridays around the corner. So, yes, I’m enjoying my time in Taipei, despite the jet lag and the bloody rain and my ongoing worries about Man U’s vital clash with Chelsea on Sunday (which I get back just in time to see). Among the international visitors I have bumped into at the show are Adrian Drewitz, Frank Ballouz, Michael Green, Marshall Ashdown, Chris McGrath and John Stergides. And I’ve seen Tiziano Tredese, Gary Stern, Greg Bacorn and Harry Levy sauntering by as I’ve been conducting interviews. Taiwanese companies in this industry are extremely proactive when it comes to extending themselves on the global stage and this has been a recurring theme during my conversations with them. In fact this whole small island has a distinctly commercial and industrial heartbeat. That said, there is the pervading feeling that the manufacturing boom on the mainland is having a negative effect. Countering this, Taiwan is endeavouring to occupy the quality high ground. Many stands here have signs stating: “100 per cent made in Taiwan.” It’s interesting that this was once a more or less derogatory statement.
