The government would soon propose creating five NT$10 billion (US$307.6 million) funds to promote development in key fields, including artificial intelligence (AI), “smart” healthcare and green growth, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.
Cho revealed the plan in a speech at a business breakfast hosted by the Taipei-based Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, in which he laid out the government’s economic development goals.
Taiwan’s economic growth this year could exceed 4 percent and would build on the eight years under former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in which annual economic growth averaged 3.14 percent, Cho said.
Photo: CNA
To sustain that momentum, the Executive Yuan would convene a third meeting of its Economic Development Commission next month, at which it would propose the creation of five NT$10 billion funds aimed at increasing Taiwan’s competitiveness, he said.
The commission was established in July with tasks focusing on strengthening the country’s economic development. It is headed by the premier.
The five funds would promote AI development, cultural and creative industries, “smart” healthcare, green growth and a youth overseas dream fund — a new program backing the participation of young people in volunteering, internships or other overseas learning activities, Cho said.
“Smart healthcare” refers to the use of technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data or AI to improve healthcare, while “green growth” refers to the harmonizing of economic development with environmental sustainability.
On the issue of Taiwan’s energy supply, the government would continue its efforts to gradually replace coal with natural gas in the electricity mix while also increasing production from renewable sources, Cho said.
He said he is confident that the government would be able to meet Taiwan’s growing electricity demand by building new energy facilities and developing green energy.
However, he also left the door open to the use of nuclear power, appearing to back off the Democratic Progressive Party’s long-standing pledges of a “nuclear-free homeland” and the phaseout of nuclear power by next year.
“There are new nuclear energy technologies being developed around the world, and the government will not be absent from that,” Cho said.
As long as nuclear energy can be used safely, a solution can be found for nuclear waste disposal and the Taiwanese public can reach a consensus on the issue, “we are actually very open to [it],” he said.
Last year, 42.2 percent of Taiwan’s electricity came from coal, 39.5 percent from natural gas, 6.3 percent from nuclear, 9.5 percent from renewable sources and 2.4 percent from other sources, Energy Administration data showed.
Over the next four years, the government hopes to keep GDP growth above 3 percent and raise GDP per capita to US$40,000 (up from US$32,319 last year), while keeping unemployment under 3.5 percent and holding inflation steady at 2 percent, Cho said.
To prepare for US president-elect Donald Trump taking office on Jan. 20, the Executive Yuan has also set up a specialized team focused on Taiwan-US trade ties, he said.
The government would also continue to pursue the completion of a Taiwan-US trade agreement, as well as membership in other international and regional trade pacts, he said.
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