President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday vowed to help local manufacturers solve a water supply shortage, as local semiconductor firms play a crucial role in global supply chains.
Tsai made the remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for a 12-inch fab that Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) is building in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區).
Powerchip is the world’s No. 7 foundry service provider by revenue.
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, Bloomberg
Tsai’s comments came after criticism from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, who accused her of incompetency in tackling the crisis, despite splurging on river revitalization and reservoir dredging.
Tsai has been targeted as the government plans to tighten water restrictions in some areas of Taichung, as well as Miaoli and Changhua counties, from April 6.
“The government will proactively seek diverse approaches to conserve water and improve water allocation,” Tsai said. “The government will also explore more alternative water resources, including emergency wells and boosting groundwater supply.”
Manufacturers in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), which houses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), are to be spared further restrictions thanks to water supplied via the Taoyuan-Hsinchu pipeline.
The government has a vision to make Taiwan a center of advanced semiconductor process technologies, part of a broader plan to develop six strategic industries, Tsai said.
It has been a major undertaking of the government to solicit investment from multinational companies and overseas Taiwanese manufacturers, she said.
In response to complaints by Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) about the water restrictions, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said that only a few areas of the county face additional rationing.
The new measure is expected to affect about 1.064 million people in the areas, the ministry said.
The priority is to prepare detailed plans for water surcharges, while water rate hikes are also to be discussed, Wang said.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS