Coinciding with Vice President Lien Chan's (連戰), announcement of a 12-point plan for the future of Taiwan's high-tech development yesterday, the National Science Council (NSC, 國科會) also made public a plan covering the country's science-based industrial parks.
The NSC said more industrial parks are to be created to form two main high-tech industrial regions in Taiwan by the end of 2003. The officials said that the area for science-based industrial parks would be doubled, boosting the total value of output to NT$1.3 trillion dollars.
According to the plan, the boundary of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (新竹科學工業園區) would be extended into Miaoli County (苗栗) by building satellite bases in the remote townships of Chunan (竹南) and Tunglo (銅鑼), forming a high-tech industrial cluster creating NT$1 trillion-worth of output and providing 120,000 job opportunities.
In southern Taiwan, NSC officials said the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park (台南科學工業園區) -- still in the planning stages -- would be expanded to include a high-tech industrial area, covering 1,500 hectares of land from Tainan to Kaohsiung counties. It would create NT$300 billion-worth of output and 40,000 job opportunities.
"Dispersing the overly concentrated high-tech industry can lower risks," said NSC chairman Huang Chen-tai (
Huang said that NT$30 billion had been earmarked to carry out the plan, to cover feasibility studies selecting sites for building satellite bases in southern Taiwan.
Within two months, a special team composed of experts from industry, academia, and the government would select several townships in southern Taiwan as sites for the industrial parks, Huang said.
"First, we have to consider the future demands for both water and electricity in southern Taiwan, then pick out proper sites," Huang said, adding the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA,
Huang said that both the Tainan and Kaohsiung county governments welcomed the plan and had promised to help the science council to obtain land.
However, the council recognized the difficulties presented by southern Taiwan's unique situation. The scarcity of water resources caused by both natural and man-made factors has posed problems for seven southern local governments since the early 1990s.
Since last December, the passage of an environmental impact assessment for the Pinnan Industrial Complex (
The MOEA's Water Resource Bureau said the available water supply totals around 80,000 tons a day, but the complex, as it is planned, would require around 190,000 tons a day.
NSC officials said yesterday that factories in the newly planned industrial parks would recycle 75 percent of their waste water, while using seawater desalination technology to meet additional needs.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS