President-elect William Lai (賴清德) is considering creating an advanced defense technology agency soon after assuming office later this month, an official with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
The authority the agency would have and whether the National Security Council or Ministry of National Defense would oversee it has not been decided, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In a pre-recorded video at the Hill and Valley Forum in Washington on Wednesday, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said that Taiwan is a reliable partner and should be included in US defense supply chains.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office via CNA
Taiwan is learning from the US’ experience in 2015 of creating the Defense Innovation Unit under the Department of Defense to facilitate the application of cutting-edge technology to military needs, Hsiao said.
The Ministry of National Defense in June 2016 confirmed it would create a “Taiwanese DARPA” in 2017, a reference to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The ministry-proposed organization, to be staffed by 20 project managers with doctorates in a defense technology-relevant field or who have experience in the industry, was to receive an annual budget of NT$300 million (US$9.27 million), it said at the time.
The unit was intended to facilitate closer military-academic collaboration and ensure that defense projects benefit from up-to-date knowledge, including Academia Sinica’s latest projects, the ministry said.
The unit would avoid programs that appeared to duplicate other projects and endeavors that would waste resources by being created in-house, it said.
The project later floundered amid opposition from military officials and legislators.
At the time, lawmakers and critics of the project demanded that the ministry improve the integration of research and development capabilities in the government, academia and the armament production sector, rather than adding more bureaucracy.
The source said that governments worldwide are establishing mechanisms to manage innovations in defense technology.
As such, the implementation of Lai’s proposal is a certainty, they said.
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
Singapore yesterday swore in Lawrence Wong (黃循財) as the city-state’s new prime minister in a ceremony broadcast live on television after Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) stepped down following two decades in office. Wong, formerly deputy prime minister, was inaugurated at the Istana government office shortly after 8pm to become the second person outside the Lee family to lead the nation. “I ... do solemnly swear that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as prime minister according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or favor, affection or ill-will. So help me God,” the
MUSICAL INTERLUDE: During the altercations, KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin at one point pulled out a flute and started to play the national anthem A massive brawl erupted between governing and opposition lawmakers in the main chamber of the legislature in Taipei yesterday over legislative reforms. President-elect William Lai (賴清德) is to be inaugurated on Monday, but his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its majority in the legislature and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been working with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to promote their mutual ideas. The opposition parties said the legislative reforms would enable better oversight of the Executive Yuan, including a proposal to criminalize officials who are deemed to make false statements in the legislature. “The DPP does not want this to be
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,