The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal to build a “green” energy park in the Shalun area (沙崙) in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁) to attract NT$1.2 trillion (US$37.93 billion) in investment in the renewable energy industry.
The 22-hectare park near the Taiwan High Speed Rail’s Tainan Station will comprise a 5-hectare joint research center and a 17-hectare testing facility that will be operated by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The park is to develop renewable energy sources, in particular solar power, biomass and offshore wind power technologies; energy storage technology, including lithium battery, fuel cell and grid energy storage systems; energy conservation technology for electric vehicles and energy-saving motors; and “green” architecture and system integration engineering, said Chen Tzong-chyuan (陳宗權), director-general of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Foresight and Innovation Policies.
In addition to research bodies under the two ministries, Academia Sinica, National Chiao Tung University and National Cheng Kung University will establish facilities and campuses in the park to boost their research capacity.
“The park has been in the planning for some time and is part of the government’s program to develop the ‘five plus two’ industries. There is a very high degree of consensus [over the project], and hopefully it will yield concrete results in a short time,” Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) quoted Premier Lin Chuan (林全) as saying.
The “five plus two” industries include an Asian Silicon Valley, “intelligent” machinery, “green” energy technology, biomedicine and national defense — plus establishing a new agricultural paradigm and a circular economy, which the government has been promoting to boost the nation’s economy.
The park, which is scheduled to be completed in 2019, aims to boost the nation’s wind-power generation capacity to 4.2 gigawatts and solar-power generation capacity to 20 gigawatts by 2025.
The project is expected to create NT$1.2 trillion in private investment and introduce 1,000 researchers to the park, Minister of Science and Technology Yang Hung-duen (楊弘敦) said.
The park will also include commercial and residential areas, and the government is to invest more than NT$50 billion in infrastructure, Tainan Deputy Mayor Wu Chong-rong (吳宗榮) said.
A film studio is to be established at a 200-hectare site at Taiwan Sugar Corp’s (台糖) Shalun Farm, which is separated from the park’s residential area by a large greenway, Wu said.
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
COUNTER DISINFORMATION: More engagement and media literacy are needed to push back against misinformation and claims that the US is an unreliable partner, the AIT director said The US is “confident” that Taiwan does not face an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk told a US public radio show, adding that Washington remains committed to defensively arming the nation. She made the comment during an interview on All Things Considered, broadcast on Friday on US-based National Public Radio. “There is an important distinction between making plans and training troops, and getting ready to do something,” Oudkirk said, on whether she thinks Beijing plans to attack Taiwan in the near future. Chinese officials have told Washington that “their preference is for peaceful reunification,
EXPOSED: Some Taipei wardens reported joining the trips out of peer pressure, while others said they were relieved it was made public so they could refuse, a city councilor said Nearly 30 percent of Taipei borough wardens have joined group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government, leading prosecutors probing potential Chinese interference in January’s elections to question local officials, an investigation showed. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and Chen E-jun (陳怡君) have reported cases of Taipei borough wardens inviting residents to join inexpensive privately organized group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government. The six-day trips reportedly cost NT$10,000 to NT$15,000, the councilors said. An investigation by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that nearly 30 percent
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
RSS