Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday announced her “Asian Silicon Valley” initiative, saying that the plan is to create the basis for business development for the next two decades and would welcome talent from all over the world, including China.
In a news conference at DPP headquarters in Taipei, Tsai said that if elected, she would seek to create an integral zone for innovative high-tech industries near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to attract talent from within Taiwan and abroad, and push for closer cooperation between businesses in Taiwan and in Silicon Valley in the US, while creating more opportunities for young people.
“I know many Taiwanese who live in Silicon Valley,” Tsai said. “A lot of them have been there for decades. They have rich experience and have accumulated assets. Many of them are investing in start-ups.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“If we could make connections to this senior talent in Silicon Valley to give Taiwanese entrepreneurs more opportunities, to have more exchanges with angel investors on the US’ west coast, to connect Taiwan’s innovative businesses and capital market with the world, we could find a starting point to move forward,” she said.
Tsai said she does not plan to attract foreign direct investment in the traditional sense, but rather seek to better connect research and development in Taiwan and the Silicon Valley, as well as enhancing exchanges of talent between the two sides.
Taoyuan was chosen for the initiative because of its central location. It is within a three-hour flight of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo or Singapore, as well as being midway between company headquarters in Taipei and research and manufacturing sites in the Hsinchu Science Park.
“The initiative sets the basis for development of Taiwanese businesses over the next two decades and is to overturn the outflow of Taiwanese talent and capital,” Tsai said. “The world is waiting on Taiwan and the DPP will move forward with all of you.”
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data