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.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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