The National Development Council (NDC) will not serve a “caretaker” role, new council Minister Woody Duh (杜紫軍) said at a handover ceremony yesterday, adding that he will lead the NDC as it continues to push major policies for national development.
Duh, former minister of economic affairs and minister without portfolio, said he was asked by Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) to take the position on Thursday night last week.
While initially declining the offer, Duh was later persuaded by the premier, he added.
“He [Mao] told me that he could not find a suitable person to take the post and asked me to act for the greater good for the country. I could not really say no to him,” Duh said.
Duh said he would do his best to keep pushing the progress of major policies, including a draft bill regarding the establishment of free economic pilot zones.
However, he said he would not spend too much time on pushing the legislative procedures of the draft if there are related issues that have not reached a consensus among legislators.
Duh said he would instead focus on communicating with the public and listening to public opinion about the draft bill to see whether there is anything the government should amend in the bill.
“We will not give up on the draft bill, but we will adjust the way we do things,” he said.
As the council bears the responsibility to map out development plans for the nation, Duh said: “We will spare no effort in our duties, regardless which political party rules the nation.”
Former council minister Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) believes Duh will lead the council well.
“I feel relieved to hand over the affairs to Duh because I know they are in good hands,” Kuan said at the ceremony.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$10.26 billion to finance the construction of its second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, and a second fab in Arizona, using advanced process technologies. The Department of Investment Review approved TSMC’s investment applications on the basis that Taiwan remains a major technology and manufacturing hub for the chipmaker, which makes its most advanced chips at home, the company operates its research-and-development center here and the majority of its capacity remains in Taiwan. The latest capital injections — US$5.26 billion for its Japanese venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
DIVERSIFYING: Following customers’ demand to improve supply chain resilience, ASE is looking for sites in the US, Japan and Mexico, a company executive said ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packaging and testing service provider, yesterday said it plans to launch a new high-end chip testing fab in the US next month to better serve its key customers based in North America, particularly California-based artificial intelligence (AI) customers. The new US testing facility would be operated by the firm’s subsidiary ISE Labs Inc, it said. ASE’s major customers, and high-ranking US officials and representatives from American Institute in Taiwan are to attend the fab’s opening ceremony on July 12, it said. ISE Labs last year acquired a 5,942m2 facility in San
Local companies believe that nearly a third of all job opportunities will vanish in 10 years due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a survey released by online job bank yes123 on Tuesday. In the survey of 1,016 companies on the labor market’s third quarter outlook, the job bank focused in part on AI’s impact on workers and asked companies what percentage of jobs they felt would be lost to AI’s round-the-clock productivity and high-speed computing prowess. Respondents felt on average that 29.2 percent of job opportunities would be lost to AI over the next 10 years, but there
Taiwanese workers earned an average of NT$47,000 per month this year, but 40 percent are struggling financially and 18 percent plan to switch jobs within 12 months, two separate surveys showed yesterday. The amount equals a 5.4 percent increase from a year earlier to a decade high, 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) said. The government is due to review the nation’s minimum wages. Employees at computer and consumer electronics manufacturers reported the highest average monthly wage of NT$60,000 a month, followed by semiconductor firms at NT$59,000, and vendors of shoe and textile products, along with software and Internet businesses at NT$55,000, 104 Job