EXECUTIVE YUAN ADJUSTS LIST OF EMERGING INDUSTRIES

       The Executive Yuan’s Economics and Finance Committee recently pinpointed digital life, high-tech services, intelligent vehicles, health care, and green industries as Taiwan’s emerging industries for the next three years. This is expected to stimulate the development of emerging technologies including broadband communications, Internet multimedia, digital content, system-on-a-chip (SoC), radio frequency identification (RFID), vehicle energy conservation, remote diagnosis, green energy, and green materials.

At the same time, the Executive Yuan chose intelligent dwelling space, flexible electronics, intelligent robots, biomedicine, and nano-technology as emerging technologies for the coming nine years. This is expected to stimulate the development of new technologies such as environmentally friendly construction materials, building energy conservation, soft materials, image display, precision machinery, medical equipment, biopharmacology, genetic medicine, and nano materials.

Several flagship plans will be worked out to encourage investment in these industries, and wireless broadband construction will be stepped up to boost the penetration rate of wireless broadband telecommunications services.

As part of the flagship plan, the Executive Yuan will place priority on implementation of the Ubiquitous-Taiwan (U-Taiwan) plan, a U-Care plan for senior citizens, a miniaturized medical equipment development plan, and the development of renewable energy. The U-Taiwan plan calls for wireless broadband construction all over the island as well as for various application plans and the development of business models, leading to an environment of convenient wireless Internet services for all sorts of handheld devices (mobile phones, PDAs, notebook computers). The accelerated popularization and utilization of new-generation wireless broadband technologies (WiMAX, 4G) will also be promoted. The U-Care plan entails the development of a health care system that will enable senior citizens to enjoy immediate and convenient care and a good quality of life in their own homes or communities (outside of hospitals). The miniaturized medical equipment development plan aims at the miniaturization of hospital medical equipment for added convenience in the provision of individual health management. In the area of renewable energy development, solar photovoltaic, wind power generation, clean production, energy-saving production, and other green energy industries will be promoted, and the technologies needed for industrial development over the coming 15 years will be developed. Meanwhile, the government will complete the enactment of the Renewable Energy Development Act as quickly as possible.

In regard to strengthening broadband construction, the Executive Yuan has decided to revise the Electricity Act and Cable Television Act so as to enable power companies to use their existing optical fiber installations for the operation of telecommunications businesses and abolish current area restrictions on cable TV operators. After Article 48 of the Electricity Act is revised, power companies will be able to make fuller use of their existing optical cables and even engage in cross-industry telecommunications businesses that provide consumers with more advanced and more convenient telecoms while speeding up the popularization of broadband telecoms services. Amendment of the Cable Television Act will expand the operating scale of cable TV companies and enhance their willingness to provide online and high-definition Internet TV (HDTV) services; this will strengthen their competitiveness, and make the general public more eager to use broadband. The Executive Yuan has set a broadband coverage target of 40% by 2009, at which time 9 million of the island’s population will enjoy 30Mbps broadband services; and the coverage target for 2015 is 90%, meaning that 20 million of the island’s residents will be using 50Mbps broadband services.

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