Taipei: Taiwan's government has allocated NT$196.5 billion (US$6.03 billion) in next year's budget to support the tech industry, the nation's premier said on Thursday. Speaking at a technology-themed event EdTech Taiwan held at the Taipei World Trade Center, Premier Cho Jung-tai emphasized the government's commitment to transforming Taiwan into a digital nation and 'smart' island. According to Focus Taiwan, the budget allocation includes NT$14.6 billion for the semiconductor industry, NT$10.1 billion for net-zero technology, NT$9.4 billion for artificial intelligence (AI), NT$6 billion for aerospace and communications industries, and NT$5.3 billion for digital humanities. The remainder of the budget will focus on the arms industry, security-related technologies, and next-generation communications. The premier highlighted the Executive Yuan's aim to establish Taiwan's sovereign AI capabilities and transition into an era of AI applications. He also underscored the importance of government ministers clearly ex plaining the budget to Taiwan's Legislature, where the main opposition parties, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), hold a majority. The opposition-controlled Legislature has been at odds with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) over the proposed general executive budget for the coming year. If approved, the NT$196.5 billion allocation to technology-related spending would mark a significant increase of over 25 percent from the current year's NT$156.9 billion.
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