Artificial intelligence (AI) medical products could become one of Taiwan’s main exports to Southeast Asia, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) said on Thursday.
ASEAN is the best gateway for Taiwanese firms to expand overseas, as they have already made investments in industries in the region, Chen told a forum in Taipei.
While China still produces one-third of the world’s manufactured goods, it has lost its shine due to trade disputes with the US, resulting in major changes to supply chains, he said.
Photo: CNA
The government has been helping Taiwanese businesses diversify their investments and markets by pushing the New Southbound Policy, he said.
The policy aims to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and 18 countries in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, to reduce Taiwan’s dependence on China. It was introduced after former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in 2016.
Global investment in ASEAN grew 11.5 percent from 2016 to 2022, and the region’s share of global trade increased in the same period to 7.7 percent from 6.9 percent, showing its growing importance to the global economy, Chen said, citing UN data.
As part of the new administration’s plans to help businesses expand overseas, the government is expected to support Taiwanese businesses that invest in Southeast Asia, he said.
Taiwanese enterprises have a wide range of investments in the region, from investments in industries such as textiles, information and communications technology, semiconductors, electric motorcycles, smart cities, biomedicine and healthcare, Chen said.
The vision is to integrate Taiwan’s medical expertise with AI technologies and work with ASEAN in digital healthcare while exploring the region as a potential market for Taiwan’s medical and health products and services, he added.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
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