President Chen Shui-bian (
Addressing a ceremony in Mailiao, Yunlin County, to mark the ground-breaking of the fourth-phase expansion of the Sixth Naphtha Cracker, Chen said that Formosa's commitment to completing the expansion project in just two years has once again underlined the conglomerate's "astonishingly high" operational efficiency.
Completing the NT$124.6 billion (US$3.61 billion) expansion project in such a short period of time will also allow Formosa to live up to the fame enjoyed by the group's founder, Wang Yung-ching (
The fourth-phase expansion project is also serving as a concrete support for the government's policy of seeking to have industries "plough deeply and keep their roots at home, Chen said.
When it is completed, the combined production of the Sixth Naphtha Cracker, which produces mainly ethylene and propylene, will be worth NT$235.1 billion annually and will help push Taiwan's GDP up by 2.3 percent, he said.
He offered his appreciation and respect on behalf of the government and the people to Formosa for its long-term support and contributions to the country.
He noted that Formosa has invested more than NT$540 billion over the past decade in the first three phases of development of the Sixth Naphtha Cracker, which as a whole has an output of petrochemical products exceeding NT$610 billion and has spurred up- and downstream production and services worth some NT$1 trillion.
Noting that the Sixth Naphtha Cracker and its related industries and services have so far created some 750,000 jobs, Chen described Formosa as an index company of the nation's industrial development and said it deserves the title of "a pillar of rock in a turbulent stream."
Meanwhile, Chen also praised Premier Yu Shyi-kun and his executive team for having "scored brilliantly" in the government's efforts to rev up the domestic economy. He said Yu's team has demonstrated high efficiency in removing various investment barriers in a very short space of time to allow major investment projects to be implemented nationwide.
For example, Chen said, he officiated at a ground-breaking ceremony last May at a defunct military base next to the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park for an expansion of the nation's "Silicon Valley." In less than six months, the complex has been successfully rezoned as part of the industrial park.
To date, 12 high-technology companies have signed contracts with the government to establish manufacturing operations in the area, he said.
Citing another military base in Tucheng, Taipei County, Chen said the Executive Yuan has been able to turn a former military transportation school into an industrial zone and has allowed the Hong Hai Group to relocate its manufacturing operations to the base in just three months. This, he said, shows unprecedentedly high efficiency on the part of the government.
For his part, Wang Yung-ching, offered his gratitude to the government for its assistance in helping the conglomerate realize its ambitious plans.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS