Lai announces approval of NT$2.94 billion 'smart health' subsidies

Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Sunday that his administration has approved 197 subsidy programs worth about NT$2.94 billion (US$93 million) under a plan to encourage medical institutions to adopt 'smart health care' technologies.

The subsidy programs, part of the five-year NT$48.9 billion Healthy Taiwan Cultivation Plan launched last year, are designed to leverage the advantages of smart health care to strengthen medical services, Lai said at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Nobel Health Care Forum in Taipei.

The president said that although average life expectancy in Taiwan is currently above 80, people spend an average of 8.4 years in poor health.

This means "about 10 percent of the average lifespan is unhealthy," with some people bedridden, using wheelchairs or needing daily care, he said.

The government's goal is that "the longer people live, the longer they stay healthy," Lai added.

Turning to technology policy, Lai said the government aims to train 500,000 "artificial intelligence professionals" by 2040.

He said the National Center for High-performance Computing at Hsinchu Science Park has already begun operations, and that the national AI data center at Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City in Tainan will begin operations soon.

Lai said the government is focusing on three key technologies: silicon photonics, quantum computing and robotics development.

He said the government plans to build an artificial intelligence ecosystem and "cultivate a software innovation and entrepreneurship platform with a Taiwan dollar output value in the trillions."

Lai likened Taiwan's semiconductor and ICT industry to a "mountain range that protects the country," adding that the integration of health care and technology could also play a similar role.