A high-energy synchrotron radiation beamline jointly created by Taiwan and Japan was inaugurated in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, yesterday, to facilitate cutting-edge life-science and materials research.
The facility marks the first time that Taiwan has managed to break China's diplomatic embargo to forge a joint venture with Japan in the high-technology field.
The new beamline, believed to be the world's strongest and most powerful synchrotron radiation light source, was co-produced by Taiwan's Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (SRRC) and the SPring-8 Light Source under the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JSRRI).
Taiwan's National Science Council Chairman Weng Cheng-i (
"This ceremony signifies a great step in Taiwan-Japanese scientific collaboration," Weng said.
Speaking on the occasion, Chen said the new beamline will allow Taiwan scientists to perform exclusive research into biological structure and state-of-the-art materials science from next year.
"I firmly believe that this exciting moment will serve as an important milestone in continuing the collaboration between Japan's and Taiwan's scientific communities for decades to come," Chen said.
Chen said the inauguration of the new facility is expected to lead Taiwan into brand new research frontiers in life science and cutting-edge materials development.
Taiwan installed a synchrotron radiation accelerator in October 1993. It can produce third-generation beamlines for soft X-ray-related scientific research. The accelerator, however, cannot provide beamlines for hard X-ray-related scientific experiments.
Taiwan then proposed at the 1996 ministerial-level meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that all APEC member economies open their synchrotron radiation research facilities for joint research.
On this international project, Taiwan is devoted to completing two hard X-ray beamlines by offering both technical and financial assistance, amounting to about NT$350 million, within five years.
SRRC director Chen told the Taipei Times that several research teams in Taiwan had expressed their interest in using beamlines established at SPring-8, including Academia Sinica, the Industrial Technology Research Institute and Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology under the Ministry of National Defense.
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