Micro-chip Research Center Created
A research center has been set up in this Far-East country to develop advanced microchip production technology．The center, which will start out with about US $14 million, will help the country develop its chip industry without always depending on imported technology.
The center will make use of its research skills and facilities to develop new technologyfor domestic chip plants．The advent of the center will possibly free the country from the situation that it is always buying almost-outdated technologies from other countries, said the country's flagship (旗舰，首位) chipmaker．Currently, chip plants in this country are in a passive situation because many foreign governments don't allow them to import the most advanced technologies, fearing they will be used for military purposes． Moreover．the high licensing fees they have to pay to technology providers are also an important reason for their decision of self-reliance.
As mainstream (主流) chip production technology shifts from one generation to the next every three to five years, plants with new technology can make more powerful chipsat lower costs, while plants with outdated equipment, which often cost billions of dollars to build, will be marginalized(边缘化)by the market.
More than 10 chip plants are being built, each costing millions of US dollars．The maiority of that money goes to overseas equipment vendors (卖主) and technology ownersmainly from Japan and Singapore.
Should the new center play a major role in improving the situation in the industry, the country admits the US $14 million investment is still rather small This country is developing comprehensive technologies．Most of the investment will be spent on setting alliances with technology and intellectual property owners．
第 16 题 The country says that the investment of US $14 million is big enough for developing that country’s industry.