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.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS