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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Council proposes 13％ tech budget hike
National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen, center, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
RESILIENCE:The tech budget would be spent to build large language model AI and sovereign AI so that Taiwan can produce the technology using its own infrastructure
By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter
The National Science and Technology Council yesterday proposed increasing the technology budget by about 13 percent next year to NT$180 billion （US$5.46 billion） to support the advancement of semiconductor, artificial intelligence （AI） and other industries with strategic importance.
This year, the government plans to spend a record-high budget of NT$159.5 billion on technology.
The new budget is part of the government’s efforts to enhance the nation’s technology prowess and to boost supply chain resilience, given growing competition and geopolitical risks.
The technology budget would be earmarked for the development of “five trusted industry sectors” proposed by President William Lai （賴清德）, the council said.
The five trusted industry sectors include semiconductor, AI, defense, security, surveillance and next-generation communications.
The council would also fund the creation of a “Chips Team Taiwan” initiative to build a domestic chip supply chain to cope with future demand, it said.
A bulk portion of local semiconductor goods and services such as chip designing, wafers, chip testing and packaging services, aim to supply overseas customers, the council said.
“The increase in technology budget purports to cement Taiwan’s national strength. Taiwan should cooperate with other countries to build trusted supply chains, given growing geopolitical tensions,” National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen （吳誠文） said.
“Investing in technology development will safeguard Taiwan’s industrial advancement and ensure that the nation can play a critical role in the supply chains among democratic countries,” he said.
The budget would also be spent on building large language model AI and sovereign AI, allowing the nation to gain the capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks, the council said.
The budget would also be used to fund existing projects such as the Taiwan Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program, net zero technology, the Taiwan AI Action Plan 2.0 and a new “Silicon Valley” project in southern Taiwan, it said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
