Shung Yeou-kuang (刑有光), the newly appointed chairman of the state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空工業), said yesterday that he would strive to facilitate corporate-style management at the AIDC and promote cross-strait aviation cooperation once he takes office.
To comply with the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ efforts to promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation in various industries, including the aviation industry, Shung said the assembly of civil aircraft and parts production management were two areas worth considering.
Shung said that while the civil aviation market in Taiwan was already rather small as a result of the size of the nation, the market has nearly been destroyed after the launch of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (台灣高鐵).
“That is not to say there is no room for the development of Taiwan’s aviation industry. I think perhaps Taiwan can learn from Israel’s example and focus on manufacturing unique and advantageous products,” Shung said.
Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球), executive director at the ministry’s State-owned Enterprise Commission, said he hoped that the AIDC, as a leading player in the domestic aviation industry, could follow China Steel Corp’s (中鋼) example and help its upstream, midstream and downstream industries grow.
Hwang said AIDC needed a clear market position and would have to determine what role it wanted to play in the aviation, auto electronics and wind energy markets.
Shung, 63, succeeded Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) as AIDC chairman. He has a PhD in aeronautical engineering from Colorado State University.
He has held various positions in the aircraft engineering and manufacturing industries, including director-general of the systems development department at AIDC, vice-president of Air Asia Co (亞洲航空) and senior consultant at Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp (SSAC, 華揚史威靈). Prior to rejoining AIDC, Shung served as president of Taiwan Styrene Monomer Corp (台苯).
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