The government plans to invest NT$900 billion (US$29.99 billion) into a safer energy transition, with more competitive industry, greater sustainability and a more resilient society, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
The government hopes the investment would spur NT$4 trillion in private-sector coinvestment, Lai said at a forum hosted by the Taiwan Climate and Health Alliance in Taipei.
The investments formed part of an initiative to make Taiwan more competitive and advanced through the development of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, he said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“Many civic leaders have been calling for Taiwan to develop its own sovereign AI, particularly in healthcare, law and finance,” he said. “I hope that when Taiwan builds its own sovereign AI for the medical sector, it will receive strong support from the medical community.”
The turnout at the conference from many members of the medical community seemed to suggest such support, and also demonstrated the nation’s commitment to health for all, he said.
The president also discussed climate change, calling it a major challenge for the current generation and the next.
Lai last year established the National Climate Change Response Committee at the Presidential Office to bring together the efforts of various sectors toward promoting sustainable development, he said.
Climate change has brought extreme weather, including typhoons and flash floods from intense rainfall, as well as heat waves and rising temperatures that have increased the spread of infectious diseases and affected food security, he said.
“Climate change has had a profound impact on human health, survival and everyday life,” he said, adding that everyone must contribute to mitigate its effects.
Achieving net zero emissions by 2050, first pledged by former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), remains Taiwan’s long-term sustainability goal and has not changed despite geopolitical shifts, Lai said.
Since last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has promoted a net zero carbon emissions program for medical institutions, and has assisted 40 hospitals to complete carbon inventories, he said.
“Meeting the challenge of climate adaptation is unavoidable, and this generation has a duty to take immediate action,” he said. “Toward that end, we must lay the groundwork for Taiwan’s net zero pathway, giving hope to the next generation, and helping them build the capability and resilience to face the severe challenges of climate change.”
Lai, who was a physician at National Cheng Kung University Hospital before entering politics, said that he hopes to lead the government in supporting the medical community.
“You are on the front line, and I am here in the back to assist,” he told forum attendees.
Citing examples of actions taken by his administration to improve public health and welfare, Lai said the government had established a NT$10 billion replenishable fund for new drugs, and a nearly NT$50 billion, five-year initiative called the Healthy Taiwan Sprout Project.
In his closing remarks, he urged the medical community to engage more in the biomedical sector.
“If the medical, biomedical and technology sectors work together, Taiwan’s biomedical industry can gain global attention,” he said.
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