The Cabinet on Thursday approved a draft bill by the Ministry of Science and Technology for new legislation to develop the space industry. The draft bill will now be submitted for the Legislature's review.
Premier Su Tseng-chang said that the space industry is one component of President Tsai Ing-wen's Six Core Strategic Industries. In recent years the government has embraced development in the space sector, gradually giving rise to a fledgling satellite industrial chain that boasts indigenously produced satellites, sounding rocket capabilities, and private-sector commercial space industry enterprises. The premier said that if the nation can integrate into the endeavor its established technological development aptitudes such as semiconductors, information and communications technology, and precision machinery, then expanding into new areas of the space industry, winning first-mover advantage, and unleashing Taiwan's national might beyond the bounds of Earth would no longer be a mere dream but rather an achievable vision of the future.
By moving forward with the nation's first legislation to regulate space industry activity and promote the sector's development, Taiwan is announcing ambitions to connect with the world and stride purposely forward into the dawning era of space exploration and development, said Premier Su.
In addition to a previously approved NT$25 billion (US$882.5 million) space development plan, which supports the satellite industry and cultivates space technology talent, the industry development bill approved Thursday will establish a dedicated agency to promote the work of space-related development. The premier instructed the competent authorities to work closely together and forge a space economy so that the nation can one day soon witness Taiwan-made rockets carrying indigenous satellites into orbit.