President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of April 25 attended the opening ceremony of the Global Science Leaders Forum held by the National Science Council of the Executive Yuan and spoke to the guests about Taiwan's scientific achievements and the focus of future industrial development.
Addressing the event in English, the president remarked that scientific training and research capability in Taiwan have been enhanced over the years thanks to the country's policy of sending students abroad to advanced countries. After years of efforts, Taiwan continues to attract these outstanding individuals to come back to their homeland and thus has built a pool of talents, laying a solid foundation for Taiwan's technological development.
President Ma particularly cited the examples of science parks and the FORMOSAT series of satellites to explain Taiwan's technological achievements. A high-resolution remote sensing satellite that supports disaster research projects, FORMOSAT-3 has been praised as the most effective thermometer in space. In addition, our National Science Council has built several science parks in Taiwan, which are located in Hsinchu, Taichung, and Tainan. After more than 30 years of development, these parks have not only become an important base for industries such as information technology, biotechnology, and solar power, but also attracted a number of foreign talents and investments, and now account for 17% of the output of Taiwan's entire manufacturing sector.
With regard to the future development of industry, President Ma pointed out that six major emerging industries will be the focus of the government's efforts in the next stage of development. These include biotechnology, green energy, medical care, sophisticated agriculture, cultural and creative industries, and tourism. Meanwhile, the government plans to keep the funding of research and development growing at the rate of eight to ten percent per year, thereby helping Taiwan to keep in line with international trends.
President Ma stressed that the earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan on March 11 gave us a vivid lesson that disaster preparedness should be the government's top policy priority. Like Japan, Taiwan is located in the Pacific earthquake belt, and also has several nuclear power plants. Consequently, the government must adopt swift and clear response measures to ensure Taiwan's nuclear safety.