In a bid to encourage local businesses to invest in Taiwan's diplomatic allies, the Executive Yuan may study the possibility of establishing a credit fund to lend money to interested businesses.
"Taiwan's diplomacy needs a complete overhaul. It should be economically, instead of politically, oriented," Day Sheng-tong (戴勝通), chairman of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, told reporters after having a private dinner with Premier Yu Shyi-kun as well as other government officials and industrial leaders in San Jose on Saturday evening.
PHOTO: CNA
Day said that at the dinner he proposed the government consider adjusting its diplomacy by teaming up with enterprises, and that the premier expressed support for his idea.
"It's unwise to maintain diplomatic relations by competing with China in the money game," Day said. "We should carefully utilize our limited amount of money and gain the most interest in return."
Day said the government should set up a credit fund to loan money to local businesses interested in investing in diplomatic allies.
"The amount of the fund can be big or small, but the evaluations of potential creditors have to be strict to minimize potential risks," he said.
Day, who pledged to invest US$6 million to open a hat factory in Haiti, said that incentives are very important when it comes to encouraging local businesses to invest overseas.
"Businessmen are smart enough to analyze potential risks and will try their best to minimum their losses. A little bit of an incentive can be very helpful," Day said.
Meanwhile, the premier spent Saturday morning visiting the Panama Canal, a cultural village and the national theater in Panama City.
Yu was scheduled to visit the construction site of the Bridge of Taiwan Friendship yesterday morning. The US$27 million project, will connect Costa Rica's western region of Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula with eastern Guanacaste.
Today Yu will meet the Costa Rican press in the morning and will visit the legislative assembly.
He is scheduled to meet with Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco at noon. The two will hold a press conference in the afternoon.
Yu is due to leave for Belize at 4 pm today.
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS