The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) is holding its first-ever Taiwan International Assembly of Space Science, Technology, and Industry (TASTI) starting Monday. The five-day event is the largest international space exhibition ever held in Taiwan.
In her opening speech, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that Taiwan has made significant progress in space technology in recent years. She pointed to the launch of Formosat-5 in 2017 and the launch of six Formosat-7 satellites in 2019 which demonstrated Taiwan's ability to develop its own satellites.
Recently, the government has made even larger investments in the space sector. National Science Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said in his speech that Taiwan’s satellite development efforts in the 1990s were focused on academic research. He continued that since the Legislature passed the Space Development Act in 2021, he hopes that Taiwan can contribute to this new wave of international space economy. It is expected that by 2025, government investments will reach nearly NT$300 billion (US$10 billion).