President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen said although the local biotech industry is in its formative stages, it is extremely important for the government to conduct further research, integrate and cultivate talent in cooperation with the private sector.
The president made the remarks while addressing a ceremony marking the founding of the Taiwan Biotech Promotion Association. The association was established by a group of leading business executives, experts and industry heavyweights to turn Taiwan into a global power in biotechnology.
Calling the biotech industry the leading trend and technology in the coming century, Chen said any breakthrough in the industry will produce great benefits for both mankind and global commerce. Chen reiterated the government's determination to help create advantages for the local industry on the international stage.
Vice Premier Lai In-jaw (賴英照) and Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) were also present at the ceremony.
Citing the many points of agreement reached during the Economic Development Advisory Conference (
Taiwan's leader has previously predicted that biotechnology will become one of the world's biggest businesses and lamented that the nation's resources in the new field were lagging behind other developed economies.
Some economists think that Taiwan's economy has become too dependent on the high-tech industry and should try to diversify by getting more involved in biotechnology, which includes developing genetically modified food, inventing new drugs and mapping the human genome.
The Taiwanese president has said that developing the nation's biotechnology industry is a "task of the greatest urgency."
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