How Taiwan Became the Chipmaker for the World

"When Donald Trump nominated Elbridge Colby as the undersecretary of defense for policy, the news stirred headlines in Taiwan. Colby, who has since been confirmed, had repeatedly stated on social media that if China ever invaded Taiwan, the US military should destroy TSMC, the world's most important chip manufacturer, to prevent it from falling into Chinese hands. The provocative suggestion has been echoed by Democratic Representative Seth Moulton,"

"Even as the Chinese military escalates its acts of intimidation against Taiwan, Beijing wasted no time in pointing out Washington's hypocrisy. "As the DPP [Taiwan's ruling party] authorities are trying their best to pander to the United States and giving away TSMC submissively, the company has become a piece of tender meat on the chopping block," said a Chinese government spokesperson."

"As tensions rise between the world's two superpowers, with Taiwan caught in the middle, the jingoistic rhetoric around TSMC also reflects a common tendency to mythologize technology. Instead of recognizing technological advancement as a dynamic, incremental process that cannot be confined to a particular geographic location, the national-security establishments of both the United States and China routinely portray state-of-the-art capabilities as a finite resource that can be isolated, stockpiled, and denied from others."

When Donald Trump nominated Elbridge Colby as undersecretary of defense for policy, Colby repeatedly said the US military should destroy TSMC if China invaded Taiwan to prevent Chinese control. Democratic Representative Seth Moulton and a US Army War College Quarterly paper echoed similar proposals arguing that threatening TSMC would deter Beijing. Those proposals reduce Taiwan’s value to its chip production, as the island supplies about 90 percent of advanced semiconductors. China pointed to perceived US hypocrisy, criticizing Taiwan’s ties to the US and portraying TSMC as vulnerable. Both US and Chinese security establishments portray cutting-edge technology as scarce and deniable.

Read at The Nation