Premier William Lai (賴清德) has given his support to increasing the budget for technology development projects by 5 percent for next fiscal year, the Executive Yuan said.
The Executive Yuan made the announcement on Thursday night after a science and technology meeting presided over by Lai, at which officials gave presentations on the progress of the nation’s technological projects, major technological policies for next year and how resources are to be distributed to implement the policies.
It was the first such meeting chaired by Lai since he assumed office in September last year, the Executive Yuan said.
The meeting was attended by leaders in the technology industry, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) and Google Taiwan general manager Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰), who are private-sector members contracted by the Executive Yuan to serve on its Board of Science and Technology.
In response to a remark by Chang that Taiwan “missed out” on the era in which rapid developments on the Internet were made, Lai said that it was “all the more reason” for the nation to capitalize on trending technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Responsible agencies are to put more emphasis on reaching the objectives they set out for their projects and making sure that the objectives translate to measurable goals, such as GDP growth, Lai said at the meeting.
In response to the large amount of capital the private sector is injecting into technology research and development, the Cabinet would spend the 5 percent technology budget increase in ways that would best support private-sector development, Lai said.
The premier echoed Chien’s remarks that more emphasis should be placed on “hybrid technological developments,” saying the government would bear in mind such developments when pushing technological developments, for example by incorporating AI into machinery and medicine.
Relevant agencies would work toward this goal by building the necessary infrastructure and talent pool, the premier added.
The board said it would concentrate its efforts on developing AI and health technology next year, while continuing to push forward this year’s 10 major projects — the “Asian Silicon Valley,” “smart” machinery, “green” energy, healthcare, national defense, new agriculture, circular economy, digital economy, innovation of cultural technology, chip design and “visionary semiconductor technology.”
With these policies, the board hopes to create added value for the nation’s technology sector and to boost its competitiveness, it said.
The Executive Yuan hopes to apply the nation’s considerable expertise in semiconductor manufacturing to AI, IoT and big data to upgrade industries and stimulate economic growth, the board said.
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