The Ministry of Science and Technology said it is seeking to bolster cooperation in space technology, autonomous driving and biomedicine with central and eastern European countries.
On a visit to Taiwan this year, a Slovak delegation is to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation with the Taiwan Space Industry Development Association and visit the National Space Organization (NSPO) at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Lin Minn-tsong (林敏聰) said in an interview with the Taipei Times on Aug. 3, as he elaborated on the ministry’s plans.
The NSPO and the Polish Academy of Sciences plan to convene a seminar on the development of space exploration instruments later this year, Lin added.
Photo: Lin Chia-nan
Last year, three Czech institutions signed MOUs with the NSPO, and academics from the two nations had preliminary discussions about Taiwan’s space exploration program, he said.
Taiwan and the Czech Republic cooperate on the material sciences, smart agriculture, biotechnology and information security, he said.
The ministry is helping Taiwanese academics work with the UN’s International Research Center on Artificial Intelligence in Slovenia, which officially opened in March, he said.
Taiwan has many mutually beneficial opportunities with central and eastern European countries, which require a different strategy from cooperation with big powers such as the US and Germany, he said.
Lin said that he witnessed the transformation of central and eastern Europe as he pursued master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral studies in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s.
In the 1990s, the countries gained their sovereignty and underwent democratization, and have eagerly pursued technological advancement, Lin said.
Technological development and national security are linked, he said, adding that strategic thinking is required to protect core technologies while opening up to the world.
For example, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry owns advanced manufacturing technologies, but the industry must source key materials and equipment from other countries, he said.
When local industries invest in other countries, it is essential to protect certain core technologies, while sharing resources with partners, Lin added.
The ministry is eager to develop smart driving technology, so it is seeking to collaborate with Hungary’s ZalaZone Automotive Proving Ground, he said.
On Friday last week, Representative to Hungary Liu Shih-Chung (劉世忠) led a delegation to visit the testing facility, which is the biggest testing ground in Europe for self-driving vehicles.
In 2019, Taiwan established its first closed testing ground for self-driving vehicles — called the Taiwan CAR (connected, autonomous and road-test) Lab — in Tainan, which is operated by the National Applied Research Laboratories.
In April, Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) invited a delegation of 34 foreign ambassadors and business representatives to tour the testing ground and other facilities in Tainan and Kaohsiung.
For more than two decades, Taiwan has cooperated with Lithuania and Latvia on technology, primarily through a trilateral program based on an agreement signed in 2000, the ministry said.
The program has funded more than 60 projects, including nine biotechnology projects and seven engineering projects that involve lasers, information and semiconductors, it said.
Since 2002, the three nations have hosted annual conferences on technological cooperation, it said.
Last year’s conference was to take place in Vilnius, but was changed to a videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry said.
This year’s conference is to be hosted by Taiwan, but whether it is in person or virtual depends on the virus situation, Lin said.
The ministry is also considering a call for wider international cooperation on some larger projects, he said.
Precision medicine, including brain science, and space technology are priorities for the ministry, which would announce the projects soon, Lin added.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
RSS