Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday announced her “Asian Silicon Valley” initiative, saying that the plan is to create the basis for business development for the next two decades and would welcome talent from all over the world, including China.
In a news conference at DPP headquarters in Taipei, Tsai said that if elected, she would seek to create an integral zone for innovative high-tech industries near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to attract talent from within Taiwan and abroad, and push for closer cooperation between businesses in Taiwan and in Silicon Valley in the US, while creating more opportunities for young people.
“I know many Taiwanese who live in Silicon Valley,” Tsai said. “A lot of them have been there for decades. They have rich experience and have accumulated assets. Many of them are investing in start-ups.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“If we could make connections to this senior talent in Silicon Valley to give Taiwanese entrepreneurs more opportunities, to have more exchanges with angel investors on the US’ west coast, to connect Taiwan’s innovative businesses and capital market with the world, we could find a starting point to move forward,” she said.
Tsai said she does not plan to attract foreign direct investment in the traditional sense, but rather seek to better connect research and development in Taiwan and the Silicon Valley, as well as enhancing exchanges of talent between the two sides.
Taoyuan was chosen for the initiative because of its central location. It is within a three-hour flight of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo or Singapore, as well as being midway between company headquarters in Taipei and research and manufacturing sites in the Hsinchu Science Park.
“The initiative sets the basis for development of Taiwanese businesses over the next two decades and is to overturn the outflow of Taiwanese talent and capital,” Tsai said. “The world is waiting on Taiwan and the DPP will move forward with all of you.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
LUCKY DATE: The man picked the 10th ‘Super Red Envelope’ in a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10 A man who recently broke up with his girlfriend won a NT$1 million (US$32,929) prize in the “NT$20 million Super Red Envelope” lottery after picking a card based on the date of their breakup, Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The man, in his 20s, bought the 10th ticket at a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢), because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10, the store owner told the lottery company. The “Super Red Envelope” lottery was a limited offering by the company during the Lunar New Year holiday, which ended yesterday. The cards, which cost NT$2,000 each, came with
TOURISM BOOST: The transportation system could help attract more visitors to the area, as the line is to connect multiple cultural sites, a city councilor said Residents in New Taipei City’s Ankeng District (安坑) said the local light rail system might have a positive influence, but raised questions about its practicality. The Ankeng light rail system, which is to commence operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, would cut travel time for commuters from Ankeng to downtown Taipei or New Taipei City by 15 to 20 minutes, the city government said. According to the initial plan, there would be one train every 15 minutes during peak time and additional interval trains would run between the densely populated Ankang Station (安康) and Shisizhang Station (十 四張). To encourage people to
CHAMPION TREES: The team used light detection and ranging imaging to locate the tree, and found that it measured a height of 84.1m and had a girth of 8.5m A team committed to finding the tallest trees in the nation yesterday said that an 84.1m tall Taiwania cryptomerioides tree had been named the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. The Taiwan Champion Trees, a team consisting of researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in June last year used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging to find the giant tree, numbered 55214, upstream of the Daan River (大安溪). A 20-member expedition team led by Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, set out to find the
RSS