In a bold move, President Lai Ching-te announced during an event on June 30th the strategic shift of Taiwan’s industrial focus from the north to the central and southern regions. He emphasized the relocation of cutting-edge industries, including artificial intelligence (AI), as a means to address the longstanding imbalance between the north and the south.
The statement sparked intense debate and controversy, particularly in Taipei and Taoyuan. Both Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an argued that the AI industry should compete on an international level and be approached from a more objective perspective.
**Cheng Wen-tsan: Adherence to Industrial Development Logic**
Cheng Wen-tsan highlighted Taoyuan’s role as a global AI industry catalyst, possessing many irreplaceable resources. He cited NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s recent visit to Taiwan, where Huang mentioned the “43 factory supply chain,” with Taoyuan accounting for 22 of those, signifying its dominance in global AI computational output.
Cheng recalled President Lai’s pre-election promise of the “Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli Silicon Valley Project,” which was officially approved by the Executive Yuan post-election and announced on the official website. The strategy includes driving local industry innovation and upgrades through chips, generative AI, and 5G technologies.
He stressed that industrial clustering should be based on objective conditions and urged President Lai to consider practicality when formulating policies. Ignoring the existing foundations in Taoyuan and the Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli area could negatively impact Taiwan’s overall competitiveness, reducing the initiative to mere rhetoric.
**Chiang Wan-an: Valuing Industry Characteristics**
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an shared his perspective on President Lai’s policy to relocate the AI industry to the central and southern regions. He noted that as the capital and economic center of Taiwan, Taipei boasts unique advantages in technology R&D and application, including research institutions, higher education, and a rich industry chain.
The feasibility of the AI industry’s relocation remains to be seen. However, it is evident that the central and southern regions currently lag behind the north in infrastructure, industry chains, and talent resources. Starting anew to establish a new AI hub would entail daunting challenges, including site selection, talent recruitment, and enterprise settlement. The process would consume significant manpower, material resources, and budget, potentially hindering the progress of Taiwan’s AI industry and squandering taxpayers’ money.
Chiang believes that while the concept of balancing development between the north and south is commendable, the nature of the AI industry necessitates a resource-dense, talent-concentrated environment for rapid growth. He suggests that the north and central-southern regions collaborate to establish a national AI industry development platform, promoting resource sharing and technological exchange to advance Taiwan’s position in the global AI industry.
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