Taiwan and Guatemala have initiated a vocational training program for engineering talent to facilitate a bid by the Central American nation to develop a semiconductor industry.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo has expressed interest in deepening bilateral economic cooperation in technology, Ambassador to Guatemala Chang Chun-fei (張俊菲) said in Guatemala City on Wednesday.
Starting on Thursday next week, a class of 28 top Guatemalan students and researchers would undergo three weeks of intensive training at Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s Innovation Incubation Center in Taipei, Chang said.
Photo: CNA
The class would visit the manufacturing facilities of members of the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association, she said.
The trainees would become seedling instructors in a planned Guatemala-run education program to train talent and build a domestic chipmaking industry, she said.
The joint venture is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to boost the economies of diplomatic allies by leveraging Taiwan’s technological advantages, she said.
The Arevalo administration is conducting a nationwide strategy to attract foreign investors in key industries to bolster the nation’s ability to compete in the global economy, Guatemalan Minister of Economy Gabriela Garcia-Quinn said.
Guatemala aims to become a member of the international semiconductor manufacturing sector, which brings innovation, technology and good jobs, Garcia-Quinn said.
She thanked Taiwan for sharing technology and experience that Guatemala needs to integrate into the global value chain.
The exchange program is evidence of Taiwan’s crucial role as a strategic partner to Guatemala in its quest to build a modern economy, Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Ramiro Martinez said.
Carlos Esquit, who heads the electronic engineering department at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, said the program would enable the participants to develop a sense for the chipmaking industry.
The ties between the two nation’s public and private sectors that the program would facilitate would help to establish a model for bilateral economic cooperation, Esquit added.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS