Government efforts to promote start-ups and innovative technology is seeing some success, with AP Plasma Corp applying plasma technology to shoe manufacturing, and PicSee becoming a must-have tool for uploading one’s daily life onto social networking platforms.
The traditional shoe industry has long used a highly toxic chemical to glue the sole to the shoe, a practice that is very damaging to the environment, AP Plasma manager Wang Hung-yi (王弘壹) said on Thursday.
By using plasma to treat the original materials, their base characteristics are changed, altering the chemical bonds, Wang said, adding that applying non-toxic resin to shoes removes the need for highly toxic chemical glues.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The company is collaborating with Pou Chen Industry and hopes to apply the same technology to all macromolecule rubber products, Wang said.
The introduction of the technology could make the traditional shoemaking industry cleaner and more eco-friendly, as well as more competitive, Wang said.
PicSee cofounder Ray Wei (方選) said there is great market potential in Southeast Asia for his firm.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
PicSee’s services shorten the length of Web addresses for easier sharing on social Web sites and can help increase the amount of “likes” on social networking services, Ray said.
Vietnam has 45 million Internet users, 2.6 times that of Taiwan at 17 million, Ray said, adding that Taiwanese YouTube channel This Group of People has about 2 million subscribers, while the most popular YouTube channel in Thailand has more than 10 million subscribers.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and Technology is scheduled to take nine leading start-ups to the Echelon Asia Summit at the Singapore Expo on Thursday and Friday.
Both AP Plasma and PicSee are to attend.
The ministry is to have a Taiwan pavilion at the expo for the first time this year and hopes to break into Southeast Asia’s innovative technology industry, ministry official Chiu Chiu-hui (邱求慧) said.
The nine companies would include start-ups in the fields of smart technology in medicine, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing and statistical analysis, Chiu said.
The navy’s new 10,600-tonne warship is on Tuesday to be christened the ROCN Yushan (玉山), as the nation’s indigenous shipbuilding program reaches a milestone, sources said yesterday. The vessel, previously referred to as the “new landing platform dock,” was at a shipyard with its name freshly painted on the hull with the number 1401, the Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) reported yesterday, citing an unnamed observer. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), a member of the legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed the report in a Facebook post. The NT$4.635 billion (US$163 million) ship is designed
INTERNATIONAL WEED DAY: Advocates are to hold a demonstration to push for the decriminalization of marijuana and allowing its use for treatment of certain conditions It is time for Taiwanese society to examine the medical benefits of cannabis, in line with the international trend to lift restrictions on and decriminalize the use of marijuana, two legislators said yesterday, ahead of tomorrow’s “Rally for Equal Rights for Cannabis” in Taipei. Taiwan is one of a few countries holding a “420 International Weed Day” event — which usually takes place around the April 20 weekend — as most nations have canceled it this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said organizer Green Sensation, which is composed of doctors, lawyers and entertainers, among others. The group released a
DIALOGUE SOUGHT: Washington said it was concerned about the pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate Taiwan after the 10th day of PLA activity in the region The US on Monday urged Beijing to stop its multifaceted pressure campaign against Taiwan after China sent 25 military jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. “The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempts to intimidate the region, including Taiwan,” a US Department of State spokesperson said in an e-mail response to questions. “We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.” The Ministry of National Defense said that 25 Chinese military aircraft entered the zone on Monday. It was the 10th straight
‘NOT ENTHUSIASTIC’: People who have been approved by the CECC as special cases who need to travel, such as foreign diplomats, would be able to receive a vaccine The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday expanded the eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination to the fourth priority group — people who need to travel abroad for special reasons — adding that out-of-pocket vaccines would be available from Wednesday next week. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said although Taiwan’s COVID-19 vaccination program was on Monday expanded to include the top three groups in the priority list, people are still “not enthusiastic” about getting vaccinated. “Only 1,220 people received a vaccine shot on Tuesday, and a total of 27,113 people have received COVID-19 vaccination” so far, he