Five NT$10 billion funds for AI, health tech, green growth on tap

Taipei, Nov. 26 (CNA) The government will soon propose creating five NT$10 billion (US$308.2 million) funds to promote development in key fields, including artificial intelligence, "smart" health care and green growth, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Tuesday.

Cho revealed the plan in a speech at a business breakfast hosted by the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC), in which he laid out the government's economic development goals.

Cho said Taiwan's economic growth this year could exceed 4 percent, and would build on the eight years under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in which annual economic growth averaged 3.14 percent.

To sustain that momentum, he said, the Executive Yuan will convene a third meeting of its Economic Development Commission in December, where it will propose the creation of five NT$10 billion funds aimed at increasing Taiwan's competitiveness.

The commission was established in July with tasks focusing on strengthening the country's economic development. It is headed by the premier.

According to Cho, the five funds will promote AI development, cultural and creative industries, smart health care, green growth, and a Youth Overseas Dream Fund -- a new program backing the participation of young people in volunteering, internships or other overseas learning activities.

"Smart health care" refers to the use of technologies such as IoT, big data or AI to improve health care delivery, while "green growth" refers to the harmonizing of economic development with environmental sustainability.

'Open' to nuclear energy

On the issue of Taiwan's energy supply, the government will continue its efforts to gradually replace coal with natural gas in the electricity mix while also increasing production from renewable sources, Cho told the business association.

Cho expressed confidence that the government will be able to meet Taiwan's growing electricity demand by building new energy facilities and developing green energy.

But he also left the door open to the use of nuclear power, appearing to back off the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's long-standing pledges of a "nuclear-free homeland" and the phaseout of nuclear power by 2025.

"There are new nuclear energy technologies being developed around the world, and the government will not be absent from that," Cho said.

As long as nuclear energy can be used safely, a solution is found for nuclear waste disposal, and the Taiwanese public can reach a consensus on the issue, "we are actually very open to [it]," he said.

In 2023, 42.2 percent of Taiwan's electricity generated came from coal, 39.5 percent from natural gas, 6.3 percent from nuclear, 9.5 percent from renewable sources, and 2.4 percent from other sources, according to Energy Administration data.

In terms of the broader economy, Cho said that over the next four years, the government hopes to keep GDP growth above 3 percent and raise GDP per capita to US$40,000 (up from US$32,319 in 2023), while keeping unemployment under 3.5 percent and holding inflation steady at 2 percent.

To prepare for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump taking office on Jan. 20, the Executive Yuan has also set up a specialized team focused on Taiwan-U.S. trade ties, Cho said.

The government will also continue to pursue the completion of a U.S.-Taiwan bilateral trade agreement, as well as membership in other international and regional trade pacts, he said.