Taiwan may lose ground in the manufacture of computer hardware if it fails to build a comprehensive development network of information and telecommunications industries according to a recent report by the Institute for Information Industry (III).
The III report said that Taiwan may drop from its current fourth spot to ninth place in four years should authorities fail to create a whole "e-solution environment" between the government and the public.
By 2006, Taiwan's spending in information-industry related areas and e-commerce is expected to account for 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product, which will far lag the ratios of the US, Britain, Japan, Singapore but be slightly ahead of South Korea.
According to the report, Taiwan is strong in the production of computer hardware and its penetration rates of cellular phones and broadband users as a percentage to Internet surfers all lead those of developed countries. But it pointed out that Taiwan's 33 percent computer ownership rate is relatively low compared with those of the world's major countries.
Comparing those countries in applying information-related technologies, the III said, Taiwan is around one year behind other developed countries in working out relevant measures.
According to the report, while Singapore put forth an "Infocomm 21" plan in 2000 and Japan ironed out an "e-Japan" project in Jan. 2001, Taiwan waited until late last year to approve an "e-Taiwan" program.
In the area of the application of the information industry, Taiwan scored 29 points, after Singapore's 61 points, the US' 52 points, Britain's 47 points, and Japan's 31 points. Taiwan was only ahead of South Korea's 15 points.
A special task force under the Cabinet is slated to launch an "e-learning" workshop in the middle of this month to help narrow the "digital gap" in society.
RSS