The government yesterday announced an ambitious economic goal which promises to raise Taiwan's competitiveness over the next decade and double its per-capita gross domestic product (GDP).
Achieving the goal of "Taiwan double" -- which implies doubling the average per-capita GDP -- will require that the government and the private sector cooperate.
Political parties should replace rivalry with cooperation in order to create a stable political environment conducive to reaching the government's goals, according to Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
To reach this goal, Chang said that Taiwan has to step up its efforts in developing its knowledge-based industries or risk being left behind in the race for competitiveness, which is currently driven by the US.
While Taiwan has remained highly competitive in high-tech manufacturing, it is still weak in cutting-edge high-tech design and creativity, Chang said yesterday at a seminar on knowledge-based industries sponsored by the Council of Economic Planning and Development.
Calling the US economy the "best model," Chang said with obvious envy that the rapid growth in the knowledge-based sectors in the US since 1992 has created one of the longest economic booms in history.
He said the knowledge-based economy, sometimes referred to as the "new economy" in the US, has stimulated consumption, boosted productivity, while at the same time has kept inflation low. "The US has become the best model for a knowledge-based economy," Chang said.
Speaking at the seminar, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) announced a 10-year development program to turn Taiwan into a "paradise for emerging industries, the expansion base for growing industries, and the operations headquarters of traditional industries in research and development, marketing, and financial management."
He urged both the public and private sectors to join together to build Taiwan into a "green silicon island."
If all proceeds as planned, the island's economy should have reached the following five targets by year 2010, Chang said.
First, the nation's R&D expenditures should account for more than 3 percent of the nation's GDP, with 30 percent being proposed by the government and 70 percent by the private sector.
Second, technology should be able to drive 75 percent of the nation's economic growth.
Third, combined expenditures of the government and private sectors in education should account for more than 75 percent of Taiwan's GDP.
Fourth, the production value of knowledge-intensive industries should account for more than 60 percent of the nation's GDP.
Fifth, the fees and installation rates of broadband Internet use should become comparable to those of the US by 2010.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2