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.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
RSS