In a speech, President Ma noted that Academia Sinica was founded in 1928 and due to the Chinese Civil War, was moved to Taiwan and rebuilt. During this period, Academia Sinica had to overcome all sorts of difficulties. Today, however, Academia Sinica is well-recognized as a hub for academic research and has an outstanding reputation throughout the world, the president said, adding that the institution has a tradition that makes people proud.
President Ma praised former Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh for promoting the Taiwan International Graduate Program (TIGP), which has further enhanced the institution's function as a center for learning. The president said that over the years, Academia Sinica has attracted many outstanding students from Taiwan and overseas to its facilities, with half of the approximately 250 students being foreigners. This signals that in addition to being a center for research, the institution is gradually developing into a comprehensive academic organization, he said.
President Ma shared with those in attendance some of Taiwan's achievements with regards to technological development. He pointed out the Top 100 Info Tech Companies in 2008 was published in the June issue of the US magazine BusinessWeek, in which eighteen Taiwan companies were on the list, putting Taiwan in second place in the number of entrants. Taiwan ranked first globally in scoring for research and development. Meanwhile, Taiwan ranked second in information technology competitiveness, according to the September rankings published by The Economist magazine's The Economist Intelligence Unit. In addition, while the United States ranked first last year in patents issued in the United States, it was followed by Japan, Germany and then Taiwan.
President Ma noted the goal is for Taiwan's technology R&D expenditures to reach 3% of GDP and to rise by 8% to 10% annually, saying that the government's technology R&D expenditures for fiscal 2009 have been budgeted on this basis. The president said he is confident that Taiwan will reach its goal in the not too distant future, enabling Taiwan to maintain its high R&D standards. President Ma stressed that in addition to funding, the government also will do its utmost to help create a peaceful and stable environment for technological R&D.
Lastly, the president urged those who have come from afar to take advantage of their time here to experience the warmth and culture of Taiwan. He encouraged them to spend a little extra in order to help boost Taiwan's economy.