The National Security Council’s New Southbound Policy task force on Monday presented a plan by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to set up a joint venture that would invest in medical and healthcare development in Southeast Asia.
The proposed company — a 20-80 percent government and private holding — would provide consultation for the establishment and management of hospitals, as well as handle purchases of medicine and other medical equipment, a source said on Tuesday.
It could also build hospitals in target countries, the source said, adding that if the project is approved, it could serve as a catalyst for the nation’s exports of medical products.
It would be the second big project under the New Southbound Policy framework, following “One Nation, One Center.”
The “One Nation, One Center” project, which was initiated last year, involves six hospitals selected to operate in a Southeast Asian country to provide medical training and consulation, as well as serve as a bridge between the local and Taiwanese medical industries.
The six are: National Taiwan University Hospital in Indonesia; Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Malaysia and Brunei; National Cheng Kung University Hospital in India; Tzu Chi Hospital’s Hualien branch in the Philippines; Changhua Christian Hospital in Thailand; and Taipei Veterans’ General Hospital in Vietnam.
Another hospital, Shin Kong Wu Ho-su Memorial Hospital, focusing on Myanmar, joined the project this year, the source said.
The latest proposal has received wide support in the council, the source said, adding that it urged the ministry to expedite the project and develop a long-term strategy.
The ministry’s proposal states that private investors would have greater confidence in the project if the government is involved, especially as private medical institutes are barred by the Foundations Act (財團法人法) from directly investing overseas.
The council also suggested that the ministry would benefit from discussing the project with civilian medical centers, as the level of participation by private institutions would be critical to its success.
The ministry proposal was the product of cross-departmental meetings convened by the Executive Yuan for brainstorming, hoping to come up with more ideas on how to expand the scope of the New Southbound Policy, the source said.
The policy, to date, has helped boosted bilateral tourism, financial investments and academic interactions.
The US-Japan joint statement released on Friday not mentioning the “one China” policy might be a sign that US President Donald Trump intends to decouple US-China relations from Taiwan, a Taiwanese academic said. Following Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday, the US and Japan issued a joint statement where they reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Trump has not personally brought up the “one China” policy in more than a year, National Taiwan University Department of Political Science Associate Professor Chen Shih-min (陳世民)
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would