Taichung, Changhua and Nantou are expected to play a greater role in the government’s so-called “forward-looking infrastructure development plan,” which prioritizes investment in areas such as railways and “green” energy, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
The project is not only a way to boost Taiwan’s economy; the government hopes it will build a sustainable foundation for growth and help the nation’s businesses compete on an international level, Tsai said during a speech in Taichung at an event hosted by the Entrepreneur Club.
The plan is expected to improve the rail, water supply, digital and “new energy” systems in central Taiwan, where many small and medium-sized enterprises are based and there is abundant innovation and manufacturing expertise, she said.
Photo provided by Taichung City Government
The Cabinet on Thursday estimated that the infrastructure plan would cost a maximum of NT$1 trillion (US$32.65 billion) over eight years and create 40,000 to 50,000 jobs.
The Cabinet said it hopes a bill proposing a special budget for the plan clears the legislature during the current legislative session, so that implementation can start in August.
At a separate event at the Taichung City Government building yesterday, Tsai pledged to provide the city NT$4.2 billion to build an international exhibition center, so that “the world can see our good technologies.”
The center would serve as an important platform to promote industrial exchanges and international cooperation in central Taiwan, Tsai said, adding that it would also attract people and therefore boost the area’s hospitality business as well as the advertising and event planning sectors.
At the event, Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said that in recent years his administration has been promoting the development of “smart” machinery and aerospace industries in the city, adding that the industrial sector is in need of an exhibition center.
The Cabinet is reviewing a proposal put forward by his administration to expand the scope of the center, he said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard