President Lai attends opening of Google’s AI Infrastructure Engineering Center in Taiwan
On the morning of November 20, President Lai Ching-te attended a launch ceremony for Google’s AI Infrastructure Engineering Center in Taiwan. In remarks, President Lai affirmed that the center’s launch carries great significance for deepening cooperation between Taiwan and the United States, cultivating AI talent, and bolstering supply chain resilience. The president stated that facing the global AI wave, the government will continue to leverage Taiwan’s advantages by promoting the 10 new AI infrastructure initiatives. Taiwan’s goal, he said, is to create an output value over NT$15 trillion, 500,000 AI jobs, and establish three international-level AI laboratories by 2040, striving to make Taiwan an AI island.
A transcript of President Lai’s remarks follows:
I am delighted to join you all today to witness the official opening of Google’s AI infrastructure R&D center. On behalf of the government and people of Taiwan, I would like to express my sincere congratulations and gratitude to Google.
In recent years, Google opened two hardware R&D offices in Banqiao. And with its new AI infrastructure R&D center, the company is steadily building its confidence and commitment to long-term investment in Taiwan. This also allows the world to see that Taiwan is not only a vital part of the global technological supply chain, but also a key hub for building secure and trustworthy AI.
Taiwan has been able to become a crucial partner for Google because of two key factors:
First, Taiwan has an open democratic system. In indicators such as global bribery risk, investment environment risk, and corruption perceptions, Taiwan ranks among the top performers in Asia, making us a trustworthy partner for international enterprises.
Second, Taiwan holds a crucial strategic position in the Indo-Pacific. We also have a world-class semiconductor industry cluster, high-level R&D talent, and a sound system for intellectual property rights.
These factors make Taiwan an optimal base for developing integrated AI software and hardware.
Facing the global AI wave, our government will continue to leverage Taiwan’s advantages by promoting the 10 new AI infrastructure initiatives. This will help Taiwan build a full AI ecosystem across digital foundations, critical technologies, and smart applications.
Our goal is to create an output value over NT$15 trillion, 500,000 AI jobs, and establish three international-level AI laboratories by 2040, transforming Taiwan into a key node for global AI innovation.
We aim to make Taiwan one of the world’s top five computing centers, help all sectors adopt AI tools, and promote the application of AI across a range of fields, striving to make Taiwan an AI island.
Considering this national strategy, the opening of Google’s AI infrastructure R&D center today is highly significant. Going forward, this center will help cultivate Taiwan’s core AI talent, enabling Taiwanese engineers and researchers to innovate alongside the world, developing next-generation AI solutions together.
The center will also help cooperation between Google and Taiwanese industry grow even closer, enhancing the technical capabilities of Taiwan’s industries and cementing Taiwan’s leading position in the global AI supply chain.
I am confident that this center will help foster Taiwan-US industrial exchanges and bolster Taiwan’s economy. It will also give US industry a trustworthy R&D and supply base in Asia as AI competition ramps up globally, bolstering the security and resilience of critical technologies and supply chains.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Google for its efforts over the past few years helping Taiwan enhance network security and prevent cybersecurity threats, and working with our government to combat fraud and disinformation.
Moving ahead, Taiwan will continue to work with Google and like-minded partners around the world, striving to ensure that AI technology benefits all, while factoring in cybersecurity, privacy, and social trust.
Our government will also continue to build a stable, friendly, and innovative environment, promoting more diverse cross-domain collaboration, allowing enterprises to invest with confidence and global talent to apply their skills with peace of mind.
We want Taiwan to be more than a participant, but a leader in innovation and a key base for global AI development. Let’s work together to ensure that the world, by choosing Taiwan, embraces a new era of AI that is more trustworthy and more resilient.
To close, I wish Google’s AI infrastructure R&D center a successful launch, and everyone here good health and success in their endeavors. Thank you.
Following his remarks, President Lai took part in the launch ceremony with other distinguished guests in attendance for the event, including American Institute in Taiwan Taipei Office Director Raymond Greene.