Some of the nation's top business leaders yesterday voiced strong support for the Cabinet's NT$2.6 trillion six-year national development project, aimed at turning Taiwan into a "green silicon island" -- a nation devoted to clean high-tech industries.
Morris Chang (
"I'm particularly impressed with the talent cultivation plan, because it's important to build a first-rate talent pool in the era of the knowledge-based economy," he said.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Stan Shih (
"It's such a good plan that the government should consider publicizing it more," he said.
Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday pledged to implement the project to the full after the Cabinet approved the plan.
"I'm well aware that the goals we set down are high, but we're determined to do our best to reach them, as I have confidence in the country, the Taiwanese people and the government," Yu said.
The government hopes that implementation of the project will help create 700,000 new jobs, spur Taiwan's economy to grow from the current 2.3 percent to 5 percent, decrease the unemployment rate from the current 5 percent to 4 percent and have research and development expenses take up 3 percent of GDP.
In addition, the Cabinet hopes the project will help develop at least 15 products or technologies that will rank among the world's best, double the current number of foreign tourists from 1 million to between 2 million and 5 million and increase the household use of broadband Internet services to 6 million homes.
While Vice Premier Lin Hsin-Yi (
Hu Sheng-cheng (
Chen Chi-nan (
Lin Sheng-feng (
Tsai Ching-yen (蔡清彥) is to supervise the implementation of plans to digitize Taiwan and Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪), head of the Cabinet's Public Construction Commission, will oversee the nationwide mass transportation network plan.
Likening the introduction of the project to the birth of a child, Yu said he is happy to see the project come into being after 76 rounds of discussion and revision.
"We hope that with the implementation of the project, we'll be able to upgrade Taiwan's quality of life and lessen the gap between Taiwan and other developed countries," he said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS