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.”
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
RSS