Sun Microsystems to open a major laboratory in Taiwan

Taipei, Nov. 11, 2003 (CENS)--Computer software developer Sun Microsystems of the United States plans to open a US$50 million laboratory in Taiwan to focus on the development of Linux software and third-generation cellular software based on Java program.

According to Sun Microsystems' mainland Chinese branch, the firm has already assessed the feasibility of opening such an organization in Taiwan although Taiwan's software industry is still an infant one, underscored by its inadequate talent supply and lack of flagship enterprises. However, the mainland branch noted that Taiwan's government is aggressive in developing the software industry, inspiring Sun Microsystems to develop the plan. The software giant will send a team early next month to Taiwan to talk with the Ministry of Economics Affairs over the investment plan.

Executives of the Chinese mainland branch pointed out that the planned Taiwan laboratory will focus on areas different from those dedicated by Beijing laboratory since Taiwan's wages are much higher than in the mainland.

Although leading U.S. information-technology enterprises including Sun Microsystems, International Business Machines (IBM) and Microsoft have set up research and development facilities in the mainland, none of them is able to develop leading-edge technologies in the mainland as a result of lingering ban by the U.S. government on the export of leading-technologies to the Communist mainland. "So, the mainland's laboratory and the Taiwan laboratory can do their jobs on a complementary basis," commented Li Gong, leader of the Beijing laboratory.

Gong pointed out that the Taiwanese laboratory will be mostly operated by Taiwan's local talents and supported by Chinese technologists who acquired citizenship or eternal residence in the United States or European nations since the Taiwan government still prohibits mainland Chinese technology talents from working in Taiwan.

Gong, who earned doctorate in Cambridge University, is confident of the future of Linux, saying that as prices of personal computers have slumped considerably to a bottom level, the personal-computer market will eventually shift attention to software prices. The shift, he added, will give Linux a good chance to rise.

The Beijing authority will announce its decision to opt Linux OS over Windows OS as government computer operating system. "Microsoft should not overlook the decision," Gong said. He pointed out that the authority's decisions never fail to meet its attempt from past experiences. Gong described Microsoft's programs as locked boxes, blocking users from making changes on them for their needs. For security sake, no countries and enterprises, he said, could tolerate a market in which no second choice is available.

In Taiwan, the government has organized an ad hoc panel to push an open-source software industry in Taiwan, in a bid to establish 100 open-source software developers and turning out revenue of NT$20 billion (US$588 million) in five years. Also, the organization will move to draw up a common specification for the programs between the mainland and the island, allowing 50% of government organizations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits to use the common platform.

Also, Taiwan government has decided to buy computers running Linux OS over the next five years to balance Microsoft's monopolization in Taiwan PC-software market.