Despite criticism from Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh
The new technology consultation task force -- besides being criticized by Lee and other professionals for being redundant -- has in fact seriously violated the current system of national science development.
According to the Basic Law of Science and Technology
According to the law, the National Science Council (NSC,
The NSC's development plan must be discussed and reviewed by a national science and technology conference
After following the above procedure, Taiwan's first official "Science and Technology White Paper"
Ironically, according to Vice President Annette Lu
Moreover, in addition to the NSC and the Academia Sinica, the Executive Yuan has already a "Science and Technology Advisory Group"
Then there is the problem of finding qualified people to serve on the new task force.
Since the old advisory group had already hired Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC) chairman Morris Chang
Chen's stubborn insistence on establishing the new advisory group also makes us suspect that its purpose is simply to endorse his science policies.
To be the leader of a nation, a strong will is indeed necessary. More important, however, is to have the courage to pull back from bad decisions or policies before it is too late.
Establishing the new technology consultation task force was a bad decision. Chen may lose face if he chooses to abolish the new advisory group immediately. His courage, however, will earn him more respect in the long run.
Huang Hsien-Chou is a KMT legislator and the convener of the Sci-Tech and Information Committee at the Legislative Yuan.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has offered Taiwan a paradoxical mix of reassurance and risk. Trump’s visceral hostility toward China could reinforce deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. Yet his disdain for alliances and penchant for transactional bargaining threaten to erode what Taiwan needs most: a reliable US commitment. Taiwan’s security depends less on US power than on US reliability, but Trump is undermining the latter. Deterrence without credibility is a hollow shield. Trump’s China policy in his second term has oscillated wildly between confrontation and conciliation. One day, he threatens Beijing with “massive” tariffs and calls China America’s “greatest geopolitical
US President Donald Trump’s seemingly throwaway “Taiwan is Taiwan” statement has been appearing in headlines all over the media. Although it appears to have been made in passing, the comment nevertheless reveals something about Trump’s views and his understanding of Taiwan’s situation. In line with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US and Taiwan enjoy unofficial, but close economic, cultural and national defense ties. They lack official diplomatic relations, but maintain a partnership based on shared democratic values and strategic alignment. Excluding China, Taiwan maintains a level of diplomatic relations, official or otherwise, with many nations worldwide. It can be said that
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) made the astonishing assertion during an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle, published on Friday last week, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator. She also essentially absolved Putin of blame for initiating the war in Ukraine. Commentators have since listed the reasons that Cheng’s assertion was not only absurd, but bordered on dangerous. Her claim is certainly absurd to the extent that there is no need to discuss the substance of it: It would be far more useful to assess what drove her to make the point and stick so
The central bank has launched a redesign of the New Taiwan dollar banknotes, prompting questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators — “Are we not promoting digital payments? Why spend NT$5 billion on a redesign?” Many assume that cash will disappear in the digital age, but they forget that it represents the ultimate trust in the system. Banknotes do not become obsolete, they do not crash, they cannot be frozen and they leave no record of transactions. They remain the cleanest means of exchange in a free society. In a fully digitized world, every purchase, donation and action leaves behind data.
RSS