The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has invested NT$1.4 billion (US$47.62 million) of public and private investments into semiconductor research to strengthen the Taiwanese medicine and agriculture sectors, it told the Cabinet in a progress report yesterday.
The investments were part of a policy to leverage the nation’s chipmaking capabilities to spur industrial innovation and upgrades, NSTC Deputy Minister Chen Bing-yu (陳炳宇) told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei.
The semiconductor innovation program is key to implementing President William Lai’s (賴清德) agenda to spur the growth of an artificial intelligence (AI) industry and improve healthcare in Taiwan, he cited Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as saying.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
The NSTC has facilitated academic and industry cooperation in chip design, the products of which remain in the initial stages of research and development since the program’s launch 18 months ago, Chen said.
The semiconductor research policy is a five-year plan and the government expects to allocate another NT$100 million to it next year, he said.
The investments added NT$100 million of value to the sectors targeted by the policy, Chen said.
The NSTC-funded chip research would be used in medical implants for treating Parkinson’s disease, gene tests for cancer, early detection tests for atrial fibrillation, tests for pests and plant diseases, and autonomous agricultural robots for greenhouses and poultry farms, he said.
Office of Science and Technology Policy Deputy Executive Director Lu Pei-jung (呂佩融) said the council’s role in the policy is to support semiconductor research and development.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs is developing the platforms on which the chips would be used, such as genetic sequencing technology and medical implants, he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health and Welfare are tasked with establishing certification systems, professional education and easing the introduction of new technologies in the applicable fields, he said.
The government has more than 30 corporate and 20 academic partners involved in the semiconductor innovation plan, officials said.
The next phase of the initiative would focus on certifying and applying the novel technologies that had materialized, they said, adding that the step is crucial for the national policy to introduce AI throughout the economy.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS