Taiwan has been strong in scientific and technological research as evidenced in its frequent victories in major world invention competitions and its always prominent rankings in terms of the annual number of patents granted by the United States. However, Taiwan's efforts in technological research and patent applications have not been complemented with a comparable devotion to turning them into commercial gains. Take the biotechnology industry. Taiwanese scientists have often managed to have their high-quality research papers published in professional journals, but Taiwan has yet to secure a significant share of the multibillion global pharmaceutical and medical equipment markets. In the face of this 'fault line, ' the government should figure out how to integrate scientific and technological research and industrial development. The best approach would be to pick a person well versed in scientific and technological research to head the government's top economic planning agency -- the Council for Economic Planning and Development -- or name somebody skilled at industrial development planning to serve as a state minister in charge of science and technology affairs. Only by so doing can we make headway in knowledge-based conomic development. 