President Ma Ying-jeou met with Intel Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of October 28. Besides commending Intel for the important role it plays in the information and technology industry, the president said he hopes the company will increase its investment in Taiwan and generate even greater business opportunities.
President Ma remarked that the advanced level of technology in Taiwan makes it highly competitive in the ICT industry. Taiwan is the world's top producer of desktop and laptop computers in terms of both volume and output value. The president also noted that Intel and Taiwan are important partners, having long engaged in mutually beneficial cooperation. He added that the Executive Yuan is making a strong push to promote knowledge-based industries, of which cloud computing ranks as one of the most important. He said he hopes that Intel is able to cooperate with local companies in developing new technologies from which other industries can benefit.
President Ma stated that observers here are closely following Mr. Otellini's visit since in June of this year Intel announced it was disbanding its WiMAX office. This led to concerns by many that Intel had changed its policy with regard to WiMAX. However, Mr. Otellini explained to Minister of Economic Affairs Yen-Shiang Shih that it will continue to support development of WiMAX in Taiwan. The president stated his hope that Intel will continue to abide by the spirit of the commitments made under the WiMAX MOU, and continue to promote and strengthen its cooperative relationship with Taiwan.
President Ma mentioned that as Taipei City mayor he worked with Intel on a wireless broadband project for the city, creating more than 4,000 hot spots over a 130-square kilometer area and giving Taipei the broadest wireless broadband coverage of any city. The president said that in recent years the development of WiMAX here has advanced by leaps and bounds. WiMAX products are now the 10th largest export item for Taiwan, which is at the forefront of 4G wireless communications systems development. Technical bottlenecks have been overcome, moreover, enabling users to go online even when travelling at over 30 kilometers per hour. The president said he hopes this technology can support disaster preparedness applications.
The president remarked that many leading manufacturers are coming to Taiwan to discuss the establishment of a 4G industrial supply chain, and the government hopes this will generate new business opportunities for the nation's ICT sector. Since Intel is a leader in the industry, the government looks forward to seeing cooperation between the two sides. He noted in particular that Intel established the Intel Innovation Center in Taiwan in 2003, and that the government, for its part, has responded to industry needs by issuing six WiMAX licenses and launching a US$220 million project to develop related technology and applications.
President Ma told Mr. Otellini that major changes have occurred in cross-strait economic and trade relations over the past two years. The signing of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement last June will further entice foreign companies to invest in Taiwan, he said, adding that Intel will hopefully take advantage of the situation to join hands with Taiwan companies and develop new business. He also said he hopes that Intel will look upon Taiwan as an important place for long-term cooperation and investment.
Mr. Otellini was escorted to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Minister without Portfolio Jin-fu Chang and Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Huang Jung-chiou to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Tung Kuo-yu.