President William Lai (Ching-te Lai) delivered a National Day speech in the square in front of the Presidential Palace yesterday, pointing out that Taiwan needs to build various industries into a "guardian mountain chain" to build a broad foundation for the country's economic strength.
He said that when leading companies expand overseas, they should help their supply chains take deeper roots in Taiwan.
“We cannot rely on just one guardian mountain, we must ensure that all industries form a chain of guardian mountains. ” Lai Qingde said.
His comments appeared to be directed at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the world's largest wafer foundry and the backbone of Taiwan's economy. The United States, Japan and other countries have encouraged it to set up factories overseas to strengthen supply chain security and reduce dependence on Taiwan.
Lai Ching-te elaborated on government support measures and affirmed Taiwan's economic performance, but warned of challenges posed by tariffs, energy issues and competition in China's supply chain.
He pointed out that Taiwan's economic growth rate in the first half of the year reached 14.15%.
The full-year growth is expected to exceed 11%, which will be the highest level in 39 years; the per capita GDP is expected to reach 45,332 US dollars, almost double that of 2016.
Taiwan's weighted index has reached 49,000 points, making it the fourth largest stock market in the world (by market capitalization).
Taiwan ranks fourth this year in the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) world competitiveness rankings, its best performance in history.
In order to maintain Taiwan's competitiveness, the Executive Yuan is accelerating the development of strategic industries and emerging technologies. Lai Ching-te emphasized the government's "five trustworthy industries": semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), national defense, security and surveillance, and next-generation communications; as well as the three core technologies targeted by its ten AI infrastructure plans: silicon photonics, quantum computing, and robotics.
He added that technological progress should also benefit traditional industries.
Other policy priorities include critical minerals, biotechnology and medical care, Asian asset management centers, public infrastructure and urban renewal, cultural and creative industries, and developing tourism into a trillion NT dollar industry.
The Executive Yuan will launch a NT$100 billion (approximately US$3.14 billion) plan to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in financing, employee training, digital transformation, net-zero upgrades and international channel development.
To cope with the shortage of labor and talent, the government will use Taiwanese workers as the main force and supplement them with foreign workers.
The amendments to the "Foreign Professional Talents Recruitment and Employment Act" will expand employment and residence opportunities for foreign professionals in Taiwan, and will also allow foreign students to stay in Taiwan after graduation.
In terms of energy, the government will pursue stable power supply, energy security and net-zero transformation through renewable energy generation, storage, conservation and grid upgrades; it will evaluate various energy options based on scientific evidence, legal procedures and safety standards.
Lai Ching-te also said that the government will strengthen drug prevention, step up drug law enforcement, strengthen rehabilitation and education, track the source of drugs, and introduce rapid saliva testing in roadside inspections to identify drug-impaired driving.
At the same time, the Executive Yuan’s Anti-Fraud Command Center has become a permanent unit responsible for coordinating the fight against fraud, including online advertising to fund flows.
Regarding the issue of declining birthrate, the government will implement a childcare subsidy of NT$5,000 per month from next year until the child reaches the age of 18, and will cooperate to expand childcare services, create a friendly workplace and provide housing assistance.
The long-term care 3.0 plan launched this year aims to integrate medical and community services so that the elderly can receive care in a familiar environment while reducing the burden on family caregivers.
In terms of housing policy, the government will continue to support the plan of 1 million rental households to achieve the goal by expanding supply and providing rental subsidies; social housing will be prioritized for newlyweds and families with young children, and the loan limit of "Youth Preferential Mortgage 3.0" will be increased.
Lai Chengde concluded by pledging to promote gender equality, emphasizing that no one should be excluded based on gender, race, background or identity.
News source: Taipei Times
