The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a “Southern Silicon Valley” project to promote the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industry in Chiayi County, Tainan, Pingtung County and Kaohsiung.
The plan would build an integrated “S-shaped semiconductor industry corridor” that links technology centers and science parks in the south, Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said yesterday after a Cabinet meeting.
The project would bolster the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries, she said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The proposed tech corridor would be supported by government efforts to furnish computing power, workforce, supply chains and policy measures that encourage application and integration of AI in Taiwanese industries, Lee said.
The southern technology center being established in Tainan’s Shalun Township (沙崙) is to provide an AI-fluent workforce and services such as cybersecurity to Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises, she said.
The government is to join forces with the private sector to obtain the computing power, data storage, and research-and-development capabilities necessary for growing an AI sector, Lee said.
Officials are to work across ministerial lines to build infrastructure in the south, as the planned tech region would increase regional demand for electricity, water, transportation, housing, education and medical care, among other resources, she said.
Adjustment to the water distribution system, water recycling facilities, new power plants and upgraded electrical substations were among the measures officials discussed during the session, she said.
The government is to build new schools and enlarge existing ones to accommodate the education needs of tech workers’ families, recruit talent abroad, improve English-language proficiency and ease the certification of foreign school degrees, she said.
Six new large-sized hospitals should also be built in the south to improve access to healthcare, Lee said, adding that 54 large hospitals were operating in the region.
The tech initiative is part of Premier Cho Jung-tai’s (卓榮泰) larger economic plan to develop six regional economies, including the Taipei-New Taipei City-Keelung metropolitan region, Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli and Chiayi-Tainan-Pingtung-Kaohsiung tech regions.
The Taichung-Changhua-Nantou-Yunlin region would focus on precision manufacturing, while the Yilan-Hualien-Taitung-Pingtung and Kinmen-Lienchiang-Penghu regions would focus on standard of living, tourism and culture.
The successful implementation of the economic plan is key to achieving the government’s goal of an economically balanced, resilient and healthy Taiwan, Cho was cited as saying.
Improved linkage between regional dams and building water recycling plants would help southern efforts to develop a tech industry, National Science and Technology Council Vice Minister Su Chen-kang (蘇振綱) said.
The government does not anticipate electricity supply problems, as improvements in renewables, grid efficiency and energy savings should suffice, he said.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS