The problem of whether the government should slow down the easing of restrictions on high-tech investment in China remained a hot topic yesterday at the legislature, but there was more heat than light.
"We'll take the [`anti-secession'] law into consideration when evaluating whether to permit Taiwanese high-tech ... investment in China," Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said during a meeting of the technology and information committee yesterday.
With the fallout from the law yet to be assessed, Chiu said the council needed more time to re-evaluate cross-strait affairs, including direct cargo flights and high-tech investment, to ensure Taiwan's economic health.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang (
"As far as technology that has yet to be cleared is concerned, there's been an impact because of the change in the environment," Shih said.
When China passed the law on Monday, Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (
The remarks by Chiu and Shih, however, drew criticism from opposition lawmakers, who suggested the government speed up liberalization to help increase the companies' competitiveness.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠) said it was pointless preventing Taiwanese manufacturers from bringing more advanced technology to China because many foreign companies, including US-based Motorola Inc, had transferred its 0.11-process technology to China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯國際集成電路).
Besides, Lee said, industry migration to China has helped local companies to make more profits and caused no harm to the domestic job market, so the government should continue to assist these manufacturers instead of dragging their competitiveness down in the global market.
Citing a recent legal dispute involving United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), which allegedly invested in Chinese chipmaker He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co (和艦), People First Party Legislator Li Hong-jyun (李鴻鈞) said the government should adjust its industry policy and not hurt a profitable company like UMC.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬), however, said that as capacity rates of local chipmakers had reduced over time, the government should re-evaluate investment applications before lifting the ban.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
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