Lawmakers yesterday established a Trans-Pacific Aerospace Parliamentary Alliance to deepen relations with Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries to consolidate the nation’s role in the global space economy.
The alliance is chaired by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱), with New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) and Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Ann Kao (高虹安) serving as deputy chairs. No Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker is involved in the alliance.
The efforts of the National Space Organization (NSPO) and local businesses to develop satellites and ground stations over the past three decades have borne fruit and, hopefully, after the promulgation of the Space Development Act (太空發展法) in June, a national rocket launch site would soon be established to facilitate the development of the domestic local space industry, Chung said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The alliance aims to foster ties with countries having advanced space technology — such as Japan, South Korea and New Zealand — or emerging space economies such as Indonesia and Malaysia, he said.
Taiwan should utilize its geographical advantages and local manufacturing strength to develop rockets and provide launch services for satellite developers, he added.
While the US did not want Taiwan to develop launch rockets a few decades ago, the trend has “changed somewhat,” as the global space industry has become increasingly commercialized, Chung said.
NSPO Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信), who joined the videoconference, expressed the hope that the alliance, with its flexibility as a parliamentary group, would usher in more opportunities to interact with counterparts in Japan, India and other countries.
As low Earth orbit communications satellites are expected to become more like consumer electronics products, local firms should build on their strengths in information and communications technology to enter the global space economy, he said.
While Taiwan cannot participate in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) due to political factors, many things can be done through parliamentary exchanges, said Jessika Ko (柯莉娟), a lawyer who serves as a consultant to the alliance.
For example, it is important to establish internationally recognized standards for verifying aerospace materials and components, so Taiwanese products can be exported to more countries at higher prices, she said.
She urged the government to establish a more complete legal framework to back up the local space industry, instead of merely treating it as a “fad.”
Promoting space tech used to be the duty of the Ministry of Science and Technology, which oversees the NSPO, while the Ministry of Economic Affairs has started to weigh in and assist local firms to enter the industry, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said.
Taiwan should play a leading role in developing launch rockets in the western Pacific region, as the ability to launch a satellite into space is an amalgamation of a nation’s industrial techniques, he said.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光), as well as representatives from National Central University, Odysseus Space, HelioX Cosmos Co, CMOS Sensor Inc, Chunghwa Telecom Co and Epotech Composite Corp, also attended the event.
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