Taiwan investing in biotech sector
Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers; this little island off the coast of mainland China has experienced rapid development in just a few decades and has become a major hub of manufacturing, high-tech industry, shipping and tourism.
The substantial growth in the country’s industrial sector is evidenced by the fact that 2% of GDP is now generated through the agricultural sector, whereas this figure was closer to 35% in the 1950s.
The growth of Taiwan has been substantial then, but there is one area of the economy that has been singled out and is of national concern, giving rise to a government-led initiative and a major development park in what was formerly a natural habitat of wetlands on the outskirts of Taipei.
The National Biotechnology Development Park in the Nangang District of the capital is a project intended to put Taiwan back on the map in terms of biotechnology research and development. Ten years ago, Taiwan was a major centre of research in this field, according to Wong Chi-huey, president of the Academia Sinica, yet the country has been unable to have any drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the US and the industry has sunk significantly.
Countries like South Korea, which previously bit at the ankles of Taiwan’s biotechnology sector, have now surpassed us. South Korea has developed four drugs which were approved for public sale in the US and is currently ranked 8th in the world in terms of biotechnology research and development. This is in stark contrast to all other elements of progress made in the country, a level of advancement that is internationally known as the Taiwan Miracle.
Industry leaders and government are now hoping to facilitate another miracle with the development of the National Biotechnology Development Park, a 25 hectare site that Wong hopes will become a hub for investment and advancement in the field of biotechnology research. The park will join a host of similar facilities across the country aimed at specific sectors of the economy. Taiwain is already home to the Tainan Science Park, the Changbin Industrial Park, the Linhai Industrial Park and the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park.
The construction of various industrial and science parks has spurred development as the area essentially operates as an industry-specific free zone, generating investment and employment and bringing together like minds and complimentary business activities that can collaborate on major projects and undertakings. It has worked well in the past and Wong sees no reason for it not to help prop up the under-performing biotech sector.
Wong told Taiwain news media recently that biotechnology is the next frontier for the national economy and that the park would help bridge the gap between the academic and industrial, as the clinical trial experience and expertise and the research foundations are well established, but not the industry itself.
The park itself, upon completion, is expected to generate NT200 million in research funding from the public and private sector, but the construction of the park’s foundation has been delayed due to environmental regulations. The sensitive nature of the site on which the park will be established has prompted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to become heavily involved in the project and a full environmental assessment is to be carried out. Already the Academia Sinica has scaled down the total area the park will occupy.
Delays due to environmental concerns are common in Taiwan, which has a vast and diverse natural landscape and countless sensitive ecosystems, which share the same island with over 20 million people and a level of industrial development unmatched in the modern world.
The Central Taiwan Science Park, another major development project to the south of Taipei, has been delayed due to what the EPA called an insufficient environmental impact assessment. That development is much larger, however, and was built largely on a ‘green field’ site, whereas the National Biotechnology Development Park will primarily occupy a site that was formerly an ammunition production factory, the 202 Munitions Works.
The laying of the foundation is expected to be complete by 2014, while the entire park is slated for completion in 2016.
Comments
More Taiwan's News
RSS-
Attack was cold-blooded murder Ma
TAIPEI -- President Ma Ying-jeou said yesterday that a Philippine government vessel's use of automatic weapons to strafe an unarmed and unprovocative fishing boat was "cold-blooded ...
-
Taiwanese tourists cancel reservations in Boracay resorts
Some owners of resorts in Boracay, world-famous island resort destination, have been receiving booking cancellation requests from Taiwanese tourists amid the tension stemming from the death of a Taiwanese fisherman in Philippine waters."Marami kaming cancellations from Taiwanese tourists na pre-booked online. We received emails from them asking if they can cancel [the trip] because there is ...
-
Talk of the Day -- Taiwan Philippines duel for global support
Philippines over the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman has not been getting out. After collecting reports in the international media, Taiwan concluded that the reports either wrote about the shooting incident without comment or sided with ...
-
More negotiations with Manila needed investigators
Taipei May 18 (CNA) A Taiwan delegation sent to Manila to investigate the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine government vessel has reached some progress on a judicial investigation with the Philippine justice department, but further negotiations are needed, an official said Saturday. During the visit to Manila, the delegation met with officials from the Philippine justice ...
-
Teco to list yuan-denominated bonds on OTC market May 20
US $48.4 million) in corporate bonds on the local over-the-counter (OTC) market on May 20, financial adviser HSBC Taiwan said Saturday. The listing of Teco bonds will follow listings of 1 billion yuan in bonds ...
-
Taiwans culture minister denies having microblog account in China
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Taiwan's Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai denied Saturday that she had a microblog account on a Chinese website, after media reported that she used that account to broadcast public issues ...
-
Bank to send second batch of Taiwan dollars to China next week
China under the currency clearing mechanism set up across the Taiwan Strait. Before the Feb. 9-17 Lunar New Year holiday, the bank sent a first batch of NT$25 million ...
-
Work on Kinmen Bridge to restart May 21
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Construction of a bridge that links the main island of Taiwan's Kinmen County and an isle to its west, will restart on May 21 and is expected to improve life for residents of the outlying islands once it is completed in four years. The Kinmen Bridge, linking the county's main island and Little Kinmen, also known as "Lieyu," is scheduled to be completed in ...
-
Taiwan transportation firm to cooperate with Dallas airport
Dallas, May 17 (CNA) Farglory FTZ Investment Holding Co. Ltd., a Taiwan-based transportation and logistics services provider, said Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with an airport in Texas to set up a strategic alliance. On behalf of his company, Farglory FTZ Chairman Yeh Yao-chun inked the agreement with Jeff Fegan, chief executive officer of Dallas/Fort Worth ...
-
Investigation team returns home from visit to Manila
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) A Taiwanese investigation team returned home from Manila Saturday after making little headway in investigating a Philippine government vessel's attack on an unarmed Taiwanese fishing boat last week that left a Taiwanese fisherman dead. The team, led by Chen Wen-chi, who heads the Ministry of Justice's Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs, ...
-
Homemade sanitary pads promoted to empower women
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) A grassroots organization said Saturday that it has launched a nationwide campaign to promote handmade sanitary napkins that it believes will empower women to better deal with menstruation in a more personalized way. Women should have a more positive view of menstruation, which is traditionally perceived as a taboo topic for discussion in Taiwan, according to the Dharti Mata ...
-
Taiwan pushing its case aggressively in row with Manila MOFA
Philippines over the recent killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard personnel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Saturday. Taiwan's representative offices in foreign countries, including the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, have been explaining Taiwan's stand and soliciting global support, said ministry spokesperson ...
-
EDITORIAL The anger of the Taiwanese cannot be so easily appeased
KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 - Putrajaya does not approve a campaign to boycott Chinese businesses initiated by pro-Umo bloggers and backed by several Muslim groups, Datuk Hasan Malek said today but the new Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism minister added that he cannot block their right to do ...
-
No alternative for Filipino workers in Taiwan says recruitment expert
MANILA, Philippines - The alternative labor markets being eyed by the Philippine government for Filipino who may be affected by the brewing tension between Taiwan and the Philippines are not feasible, a recruitment industry expert said Saturday. According to Emmanuel Geslani, there are no alternative markets for OFWs in Taiwan in case the Philippines eventually loses this labor market, which, ...
-
De Lima appeals for calm as NBI completes probe into Taiwanese fisherman’s killing
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima neither denied nor confirmed statements made Saturday by the Taiwanese government’s investigation team regarding the Balintang Channel shooting incident in which a Taiwanese fisherman was killed. In a statement posted on the Department of Justice’s official Twitter account, De Lima ...
-
Philippines may have violated procedures in shooting reports
Manila, May 18 (CNA) Coast guard personnel who sprayed bullets at a Taiwanese fishing boat last week may have violated rules for dealing with such a situation, Philippine newspapers have reported. Citing an official privy to a government investigation into the case, the English-language Philippine Star reported Saturday that the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel who shot a Taiwanese ...
-
Taiwans machine tool exports stabilize in April
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Taiwan's machine tool exports stabilized in April after showing weakness in the first quarter, rising 8.4 percent from the previous month ...
-
Taiwan calls for good treatment of Filipinos amid rising tensions
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Several Taiwanese government agencies called on the public Saturday to treat Filipinos in the country well amid rising tensions between the two countries over the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine government vessel on May 9. People in Taiwan have been angered by ...
-
Property transactions in Taiwan on the rise in Q1
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Residential and commercial property transactions rose substantially in Taiwan in the first quarter because of greater transparency in the market, the government said Saturday. Total property transactions increased 24.2 percent in the first three months of the year from the same period last year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior, after falling ...
-
HTC remains in smartphone brand top 10 in Q1 Digitimes
HTC Corp. remained one of the world's top 10 smartphone makers in the first quarter despite sliding sales figures, according to local market research firm Digitimes Research. In its latest survey, Digitimes ...
-
Taiwan completes negotiations with Singapore on FTA signing expected
Taipei (The China Post/ANN) - Taiwan and Singapore have concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement and both sides are expected to officially sign the deal soon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Taiwan and Singapore have "substantively concluded" negotiations for the agreement entitled "Agreement between Singapore and the Separate Customs Territory of ...
-
Taiwan indigenous peoples protest against nuclear energy
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) - Members of Taiwan's indigenous peoples protested against nuclear energy outside of the Presidential Office Building Saturday in preparation for a larger protest scheduled for Sunday, the eve of ...
Taiwan Focus
-
Taiwan investing in biotech sector
Taiwan’s economy has seen massive growth in the last few decades, but one industry has been in decline and a development project by the Academia Sinica is expected to reverse that decline, once environmental issues have been cleared up.
Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers; this little island off the coast of mainland China has experienced rapid development in just a few decades and has become a major hub of manufacturing, high-tech industry, shipping and tourism. Read more
News from around our Network
