The National Development Council (NDC) has yet to build an Asian Silicon Valley in Taiwan, but rejected criticism that it has been inactive.
The council, which is charged with coordinating government resources for the initiative and other industrial reform measures, is working on promoting the project and recruiting bidders to set up an execution center, it said in a statement yesterday.
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The center is the first step to realizing the initiative, which is one of the five innovative industries President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) vows to build during her time in office.
The council is creating project offices in Taoyuan and Taipei, the statement said.
The government has approved plans to earmark NT$11.3 billion (US$359.09 million) next year as part of a four-year plan to turn the nation into a regional technology hub.
The execution center is to help the council coordinate and integrate proposals and resources and make sure things proceed as planned, the council said.
The statement came after local media dismissed the center as a four-month task force that might not achieve anything.
The center is intended to link up with Silicon Valley in the US and other global technology hubs to help make Taiwan an entrepreneurial base for young people to realize their innovations and ideas, council deputy director Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said last month.
The council plans to invite experts to establish and staff the center through an open tender, and published related qualifications and requirements last month in the hope it would start operations later this month.
The team would have to demonstrate management, communication and technology prowess, and possess expertise in the Internet of Things and other innovative fields, Kung said.
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