Artificial intelligence (AI) medical products could become one of Taiwan’s main exports to Southeast Asia, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) said on Thursday.
ASEAN is the best gateway for Taiwanese firms to expand overseas, as they have already made investments in industries in the region, Chen told a forum in Taipei.
While China still produces one-third of the world’s manufactured goods, it has lost its shine due to trade disputes with the US, resulting in major changes to supply chains, he said.
Photo: CNA
The government has been helping Taiwanese businesses diversify their investments and markets by pushing the New Southbound Policy, he said.
The policy aims to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and 18 countries in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, to reduce Taiwan’s dependence on China. It was introduced after former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in 2016.
Global investment in ASEAN grew 11.5 percent from 2016 to 2022, and the region’s share of global trade increased in the same period to 7.7 percent from 6.9 percent, showing its growing importance to the global economy, Chen said, citing UN data.
As part of the new administration’s plans to help businesses expand overseas, the government is expected to support Taiwanese businesses that invest in Southeast Asia, he said.
Taiwanese enterprises have a wide range of investments in the region, from investments in industries such as textiles, information and communications technology, semiconductors, electric motorcycles, smart cities, biomedicine and healthcare, Chen said.
The vision is to integrate Taiwan’s medical expertise with AI technologies and work with ASEAN in digital healthcare while exploring the region as a potential market for Taiwan’s medical and health products and services, he added.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
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