Taiwan Today — Tuesday 9 November 2021
President Tsai Ing-wen vowed to shape central Taiwan’s Taichung City into a world-class smart machinery powerhouse on 8 November 2021, underscoring the government’s commitment to cementing the country’s position in global supply chains. She was speaking at the opening ceremony of a cross-sector innovation forum held in Taichung City.
The government has set up the Smart Machinery Promotion Office, the Technical Verification Site for Intelligent Manufacturing, and the Global Smart Machinery Development Center in the central city over the past five years, she stated. According to Tsai, with the help of smart machinery, the machinery industry has become Taiwan’s third trillion-dollar industry. In addition, smart machinery is the fastest growing industry targeted under the government’s five-plus-two innovative industries plan.
“The reason why Taiwan could scale up mask production and emerge as the second largest mask producer in the world is due to Taichung’s prowess in precision machinery,” the president said. “Such capacity and ranking demonstrate the potential and vitality of the central city.” A key plank in the government’s national development strategy, the five-plus-two innovative industries initiative centres on the high-growth sectors of biotech, green energy, national defense, smart machinery and Internet of Things, as well as promoting the circular economy and a new paradigm for agricultural development.