(link to original untranslated story)
(Central News Agency reporter Chen Junhua) - Prime Minister Chen Chien-jen met with University of Illinois System President Timothy Killeen today. Close academic exchanges in sensitive academic fields will allow more Taiwanese scholars to participate in high-tech R&D projects in the United States.
Accompanied by Minister of Education Pan Wenzhong and Vice Foreign Minister Li Chun, Chen Chien-jen received the visiting delegation of President Killeen in the afternoon.
In his speech, Chen Chien-jen said that on behalf of the government and the people, he welcomes the delegation. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and National Tsing Hua University are partners in the "U-Chinese Program." He hopes to expand the scope of cooperation from Chinese to high-tech fields and further enhance the high-tech capabilities of both parties, and industry-university cooperation and exchanges in the field.
The prime minister pointed out that in December 2020, Taiwan and the United States jointly announced the launch of the "Taiwan-US Education Initiative" to allow Taiwan to play a more important role in Chinese-language education in the United States and provide American students with a free, diverse, and democratic Chinese learning environment; in June 2021, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and National Tsing Hua University reached a Chinese-language cooperation agreement, and American students who come to Taiwan to learn Chinese in the future will also have the opportunity to study and communicate in high-tech fields.
Chen Chien-jen said that Taiwan and the United States share the universal values of freedom, democracy, and human rights, cooperate closely in high-tech fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and electric vehicles, and strengthen the resilience of supply chains - and in the technology supply chain, the key is talent cultivation.
Chen Chien-jen said that the cooperation plan between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and National Tsing Hua University covers highly sensitive scientific and technological fields such as semiconductors, quantum, and artificial intelligence. Taiwanese companies can obtain the talents they need and strengthen their supply chain cooperation with the US high-tech industry.
Chen Chien-jen pointed out that Taiwan and the United States have a high degree of strategic mutual trust, and the top universities of the two sides have conducted close academic exchanges in highly sensitive academic fields. Taiwanese scholars participate in high-tech research and development projects in the United States.
Killeen said that Taiwan and the United States have many shared values. The purpose of this visit to Taiwan is to deepen the connection with Taiwan and strengthen the relationship between public and private sectors and government agencies, allowing the two countries to further expand their ties with Taiwan through higher education and civil society engagement.
Killeen said that the current speed of change in various fields is growing exponentially, and the partnership between the two parties is more important. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the expertise of industry, government, academia, and NGOs, and the leaders of Taiwan and the United States should also connect and cooperate with each other; this week he will call on National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and other universities, as well as companies such as Hon Hai and TSMC, hoping to further strengthen the cooperative relationship.
