President Tsai Ing-wen met on the morning of September 14 with directors from the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) and the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA), as well as the representatives of a number of semiconductor firms from home and abroad. She stressed that the Taiwan government will continue to promote the development of the smart machinery industry to meet the needs of the industrial development, and thus enhance Taiwan's global competitiveness.

President Tsai noted that when she met with representatives from the SEMI and the TSIA in September last year, she was impressed by their ambitious development plans for the semiconductor industry. As the Internet of Things sector and the smart applications market have been growing, the semiconductor industry will also grow. Meanwhile, semiconductor demand for intelligent manufacturing and energy conservation will also spur development of the Industry 4.0 supply chain. From any perspective, she said, the semiconductor industry will continue to have undeniable strategic importance in the future.

The president mentioned that during the meeting last year, she told SEMI Taiwan President Terry Tsao (曹世綸) that one source of Taiwan's industrial competitiveness is the perfect integration of the semiconductor and precision machinery industries. As such, the government launched a Smart Machinery Development Program last year. One of that program's key objectives is for domestic manufacturing—including semiconductor equipment demand—to help domestic equipment manufacturers gain a bigger share of the Industry 4.0 sector.

In addition to expressing hope for the visitors' support for the aforementioned policies, President Tsai also stressed that as long as private companies are willing to increase investment, procurement, and employment in Taiwan, the government will do its utmost to meet their development needs in terms of water, electricity, land and talent. She mentioned that over the past year, the government has continued to relax legal restrictions, and created a one-stop investment service hub that responds to investment queries within 24 hours.

And finally, the president once again welcomed the visitors to Taiwan from the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Korea. She also expressed hope that exchanges of opinions will help the government consider how to enhance Taiwan's global competitiveness.

Also in the visiting group were SEMI President and CEO Ajit Manocha and Taiwan's MediaTek Vice Chairman & President Hsieh Ching-Jiang (謝清江).