President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday inaugurated the National Biotechnology Research Park in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港), saying its opening marks a giant step in the development of the nation’s biotech industry.
The park houses the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Science and Technology’s National Laboratory Animal Center, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Development Center for Biotechnology, an incubation center, two Academia Sinica research centers and a bioinformatics center.
While some of the agencies moved in last year, the park’s inauguration had been put off several times.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
With Academia Sinica leading the project and a budget of more than NT$20 billion (US$646.4 million), the park was set up on a site that used to house the Ministry of National Defense’s 202nd Arsenal.
“Taiwan’s essential competitiveness in the next generation will stem from the biotech and biomedical industries,” Tsai said in her speech at the opening, expressing her hope that the park would be connected with the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park to form an industrial corridor.
Aided by the passage of amendments to the Fundamental Science and Technology Act (科學技術基本法) and the Act for the Development of Biotech and New Pharmaceuticals Industry (生技新藥產業發展條例) last year, the nation’s biotech industry should be able to attract more talented people, she said.
The project had been overseen by three former presidents — Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) — as well as Tsai and Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said, adding that two of the institute’s former presidents, Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) and Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠), also provided vital contributions.
Given environmental groups’ concern over the project’s potential impact on local species, the institution has restricted buildings to 3 hectares, while maintaining a 4-hectare ecological pool and reserving the rest for ecological restoration, Liao said.
The park is to be managed by a cross-agency committee, with Academia Sinica academician Andrew Wang (王惠鈞) serving as acting chief executive and National Taiwan University animal science professor Ding Shih-torng (丁詩同), who is also the director of the park’s incubation center, as its acting deputy executive.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
RSS