The government has come up with the novel idea of soliciting Nobel Prize-winning scientists and executives of the world famous corporations to work in Taiwan, a source at the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said yesterday.
According to the sources, the CEPD held an inter-ministerial meeting Thursday to discuss how to attract the world's renowned scientists to Taiwan.
After hours of discussion with related government agencies such as Ministry of Economic Affairs, National Science Council and Council of Labor Affairs, the source said the CEPD will come out with a draft plan by the end of June.
To help boost technological breakthroughs in Taiwan, the plan focuses on four types of scientific expertise from abroad -- Nobel laureates, chiefs of international companies with annual sales above US$1 billion, academicians of science institutes in advanced nations, and heads of national science projects.
The government will offer foreign experts with plenty of financial incentives, including the same level of salary he or she has now as well as a full coverage of other expenses such as health insurance.
Besides financial incentives, the government has also vowed to develop a comprehensive research environment covering education, sports, entertainment, and residential and shopping facilities, the source said.
To keep abreast of scientific developments, the government has allocated an ever increasing portion of its budget to attract a high-tech work force with overseas educational and working experience.
Currently, Taiwan offers R&D people who hold master's of science degrees or PhDs in hard sciences with monthly grants between NT$80,000 and NT$270,000 per person.
But the introduction of a middle-level high-tech workforce is not enough, the sources said, adding that Taiwan needs some top notch scientific expertise or company executives to spearhead technological breakthroughs, so as to sharpen the competitive edge of Taiwanese industries in the international market.
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