Premier Sean Chen today presided over the Executive Yuan Science and Technology Meeting to discuss policies and developments in the field.
Concerning the establishment of an agricultural science and technology institution to promote innovative R&D in the agriculture industry, the premier said it is a major policy under the LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) agriculture component of the "Golden Decade, National Vision" plan. He said he in principle respected the Council of Agriculture's (COA) plan about how the institution should be set up, but asked the COA to include important elements such as a board of directors and an advisory committee in the institute's organizational rules.
According to the COA, such an institution will be formed from the merger of four units. The premier asked the COA to take special care when merging the Animal Technology Institute Taiwan since it is a juridical person subject to specific organizational change and asset transfer laws. He also said the agricultural institution should begin raising its own funds to operate independently over the long term.
Chen directed the COA to delineate tasks and resources among the institution and its subsidiaries in a way that would help strengthen agricultural technologies, enhance commercialization capabilities, and improve industrial competitiveness.
In the area of mobile technology, the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) reported on a program for developing high-end application processors (AP). Chen said AP technology has become very important as smart handheld devices grow more common and traditional information technologies reach maturity. The IDB's program integrates public, private and academic resources to develop high-end APs since Taiwanese manufacturers are already proficient in low- and middle-end production. It will drive Taiwan's competitiveness in mainstream electronics products, he said.
Due to the technical difficulties and high costs of developing advanced AP manufacturing technologies, the IDB program encourages participation from the industry's leading enterprises. This will raise Taiwan's self-sufficiency for high-end APs, Chen said, integrating up- and downstream businesses, benefiting AP chipmakers and electronic systems manufacturers alike, promoting industrial upgrading and creating more jobs.
The IDB will prepare tax expense analyses and work with the Ministry of Finance to create tax breaks for companies that invest in R&D of the new technology; Minister without Portfolio Kuan Chung-ming will coordinate if needed.
Also at today's meeting, the National Science Council (NSC) proposed a new review mechanism for the 2014 government science and technology budget. Per decisions from the Presidential Office monthly fiscal meetings, a portion of the 2014 budget will be apportioned under a new mechanism that shifts the leadership in technology programs from the NSC to various ministries, providing ministry heads with more flexibility to promote projects in line with their policies.
Agencies applying for funding under this mechanism must review their existing projects, separate the important from the non-important, and reallocate their funding to accommodate new projects. The premier lauded the idea saying this process of "out with the old, in with the new" is what zero-based budgeting is all about.
The NSC also discussed a national S&T development blueprint for the next four years covering seven major objectives: raising Taiwan's academic status, deploying intellectual property rights, promoting sustainable development, linking academic research with industry needs, promoting national S&T projects using a top-down approach, enhancing technological innovation and tackling the talent shortage crisis.
Premier Chen thanked the NSC for preparing the four-year blueprint so swiftly after the conclusion of the 9th National Science and Technology Conference in mid-December last year. The NSC will work with other ministries and agencies to expedite drafting of the National Science and Technology Development Plan (2013-2016) and submit it to the Executive Yuan for approval.