Support Taiwan's inventors

Dear Editor,

Reading your feature on creativity education reminded me how much the great creativity and inventiveness of Taiwan's people and its SMEs also deserve support. Many people are unaware that for many years, Taiwanese inventors have been winning prizes at international invention exhibitions. At the Salon international de l'invention in Geneva in April 2004, at which over 1000 inventions from around 40 countries were exhibited, Taiwan took 12 gold, seven silver and two bronze medals. The awards ceremony was reported by international media such as CNN, putting Taiwan in the spotlight.

Taiwanese inventions can be found all over the world. The kick scooters that were such a big hit worldwide in 1998 and 1999 were made by J.D. Components of Taiwan, which in 2000 was featured by the US magazine Business Week as one of the world's eight hottest companies. When Taiwanese inventors stand on the stage at invention exhibitions, this attracts overseas buyers to search for treasures among Taiwanese products. One of the Taiwanese bronze medal winners at Geneva this year was an odorless, nontoxic deodorant product made from waste banana peel, which attracted the attention of European perfume manufacturers. Western firms know that Taiwanese SMEs have over 20 years of experience in contract manufacturing, and a tremendous capability to put innovative products into production. Taiwan's traditional garment and shoe industries have moved offshore to mainland China, but Taiwan has not lost its edge in contract manufacturing, nor the advantage of the Chinese language, which is why many European businesses want to tap into Taiwan's talents to mass-produce both their inventions and our own.

However, although Taiwan still has an advantage, we must take note of the attention that our competitor countries in Asia are paying to inventive activity: in 2004, South Korea will invest the equivalent of NT$200 million in the Seoul International Invention Fair in December, and Singapore and Japan will join forces for the second time to stage an international invention exhibition. As for mainland China, it has many inventors, but for the time being its private-sector resources lag behind Taiwan's. Visiting an overseas exhibition costs tens of thousands of NT dollars, which may be more than most mainland inventors' life savings, and the PRC does not respect intellectual property rights. I expect Taiwan to retain its lead for the next five or six years. But looking at the importance that the South Korean and Japanese governments attach to invention, one cannot help but worry. I hope that the ROC government can devote more attention and resources to supporting Taiwan's inventors.