Taiwan is hoping to collaborate with nations such as Japan and the US where Taiwanese semiconductor companies have a presence to set up a joint semiconductor talent pool, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told Japanese media yesterday.

In an interview with Tokyo-based Bungei Shunju magazine via videoconference, Tsai covered several topics, including the development of Taiwan’s semiconductor sector, COVID-19 prevention measures, Taiwan-US-Japan relations and cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

Tsai said talent is vital for the growth of the semiconductor industry and the government is focusing its talent development strategy on helping boost digital and language skills, and to broaden the international vision of the talent pool.

As Taiwan’s semiconductor companies are branching out overseas, it is essential to set up a common talent pool with nations where they have operations, Tsai said, adding that she hoped that through such a mechanism, professionals from these nations could be lured to Taiwan.

Taiwan’s semiconductor industry plays an indispensable role in the global supply chain and is highly competitive due to its mature industrial clusters and unique business model, she said.

Japan and the US are recruiting Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers to set up factories in their nations, and if Taiwanese companies make such moves, it would not only meet global demand, but be beneficial to Taiwan, she added.

Japan’s advantage in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials, and the US’ strength in manufacturing technology would complement Taiwan’s research and development skills, and the advancement of semiconductor production techniques, Tsai said.

On cross-strait relations, Tsai said that Taiwanese absolutely reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” proposal of unification, adding that it would not be an option at any time.

On domestic COVID-19 vaccines, Tsai said that the immunobridging approach used to determine the efficacy of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s (高端疫苗) vaccine and bypass phase 3 clinical trials to shorten the time before the vaccine could be used was similar to a practice adopted by Japan.

“We noticed Japan also used a similar method,” she said.

The interview yesterday was the first given by Tsai to a foreign media outlet since an interview with the BBC in January last year, Bungei Shunju said.


●Origin：Taipei Times
●Link：https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2021/08/11/2003762385