Taiwan’s Premier Liu Chao-shiuan said the government would talk with its Chinese counterparts to reach an agreement on the standardization of LEDs and a certification system in June as part of the government’s “Bridge-Building Plan,” which is aimed at establishing a platform for cross-strait industrial cooperation.
In the LED illumination industry, such cooperation will turn Taiwan and China into “a global production center of LED products,” Liu said, during a visit to Epistar, Taiwan’s biggest supplier of high brightness LED epiwafers and chips.
Epistar’s general manager Chou Ming-chun agreed that the government should cooperate with China to boost the LED industry. “China has spared no efforts in subsidizing its LED and illumination industry, and that has prompted low-price competition with Taiwan,” Chou said.
He said that technological breakthroughs in South Korea and China in recent years also posed a threat to Taiwan’s LED industry. “Cooperating with China would help local industries explore the Chinese market,” he said.
Taiwan invests in green technology
In related news, an article in The China Post said that Taiwan’s government is to provide NT$20 billion for a research and development fund for green energy technologies, which are expected in turn to draw NT$200 billion in private investment in the industry.
The program will target industries that focus on solar energy, LED lighting, wind power, biomass fuel, hydrogen power, fuel cells, electric vehicles, energy information and communication technology.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that making Taiwan into a low-carbon society is one of the administration's priorities in line with President Ma Ying-jeou's renewable energy policies.
The government will help achieve several major goals, including turning Taiwan into the world's largest supplier of LED modules. Among the various steps, Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming said all of Taiwan's traffic lights, about 700,000, are expected to be converted to energy-saving LED fixtures by 2011.
