Hsinchu, Taiwan, March 27 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Tuesday the government is drafting a blueprint for the development of a new generation of high-technology industries.
"And the blueprint will highlight two key principles—diversified industrial development and regional balance," Chen said during an inspection tour of a land lot reserved for construction of a biotech and medical industry park in Chupei in northern Taiwan's Hsinchu County.
Noting that the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park in Hsinchu City has helped nurture Taiwan's first generation of high-tech industries, including electronics, information technology and semiconductors, Chen said Taiwan now must develop a second generation of high-tech industries to maintain its market niches.
"As changing global economic trends have posed new challenges to our industrial development and economic well-being, we must face up to this reality and push for structural adjustments in the industrial sector," Chen said.
The president went on to say that he has reminded the Cabinet to pay more heed to industrial diversification and regional balance in drafting the new blueprint for second-generation high-tech development.
Chen said he is convinced that Taiwan has great potential to the development of a number of new high-tech industries, including optical electronics, energy, biomedicine, agricultural biotechnology, environmental protection, resources management technology, genetic engineering and biochemical technology.
"We must stress diversified development in pushing for the island's second industrial revolution," Chen noted. In the past, Chen went on, Taiwan's high-tech companies overly concentrated in the northern part of the island, which had led to unbalanced regional development.
With the completion of the high-speed railway, Chen said, the distance between different parts of the island will be greatly narrowed and shortened.
"Therefore, we must emphasize regional balance in outlining our future high-tech development plan," Chen pledged, adding that the new blueprint will not only promote industrial upgrading but will also uplift Taiwan's overall economic structure, infrastructure and quality of life.
In the company of Hsinchu County Magistrate Lin Kuang-hua, Chen also inspected a public facility repair project, a newly opened recreational farm and several other grass-roots community development programs in the county.