Be on guard against China
An article published by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on Friday titled “Quick action required to prevent Taiwan’s semiconductors from entering Hong Kong’s market” said that the unusually large amount of semiconductor products exported from Taiwan to Hong Kong might not only be to supply China, but to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
As someone in the electronics industry, I cannot agree more. As Taiwan’s semiconductor industry takes a leading position in the world, the more it becomes the focus of attention.
Due to mergers and acquisitions, we have in recent years witnessed many senior positions in high-tech companies gradually fall into the hands of Chinese capital and multinational companies being controlled by Chinese branches. Chinese employees rise to the top and make confidential decisions that affect the company’s development and even the international market. Those decisions are beneficial to China’s economy and investment, but might not be in the company’s interests.
This reflects China’s strategic change in the semiconductor market. In the context of the US-China trade war, the Chinese government has adopted more covert methods, no longer relying solely on its own research-and-development capabilities, but using mergers, acquisitions and investments to quickly acquire key technologies.
Author Chris Miller writes in Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology that the US needs to suppress Huawei Technologies, because China’s current trade war is fought with semiconductors, but it allows Huawei to use US designs.
Stealing trade secrets and buying technology companies to make up for its technological shortcomings are China’s old tricks. We must be vigilant. Future warfare would not only be about military confrontations, but would also include wars of technology and information. In the face of China’s oppression, Taiwan must be highly alert, especially in the field of semiconductors. Taiwan must also be careful of the risks and breaches caused by the “China factor.”
We call on the government to pay more attention to this potential national security risk as soon as possible and take immediate countermeasures to protect Taiwan’s core interests from infringement.
Shih Li
Tainan
It is almost three years since Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a friendship with “no limits” — weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, they have retreated from such rhetorical enthusiasm. The “no limits” language was quickly dumped, probably at Beijing’s behest. When Putin visited China in May last year, he said that he and his counterpart were “as close as brothers.” Xi more coolly called the Russian president “a good friend and a good neighbor.” China has conspicuously not reciprocated Putin’s description of it as an ally. Yet the partnership
The ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (孫子) said “know yourself and know your enemy and you will win a hundred battles.” Applied in our times, Taiwanese should know themselves and know the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) so that Taiwan will win a hundred battles and hopefully, deter the CCP. Taiwanese receive information daily about the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) threat from the Ministry of National Defense and news sources. One area that needs better understanding is which forces would the People’s Republic of China (PRC) use to impose martial law and what would be the consequences for living under PRC
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that he expects this year to be a year of “peace.” However, this is ironic given the actions of some KMT legislators and politicians. To push forward several amendments, they went against the principles of legislation such as substantive deliberation, and even tried to remove obstacles with violence during the third readings of the bills. Chu says that the KMT represents the public interest, accusing President William Lai (賴清德) and the Democratic Progressive Party of fighting against the opposition. After pushing through the amendments, the KMT caucus demanded that Legislative Speaker
Beijing’s approval of a controversial mega-dam in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River — which flows from Tibet — has ignited widespread debate over its strategic and environmental implications. The project exacerbates the complexities of India-China relations, and underscores Beijing’s push for hydropower dominance and potential weaponization of water against India. India and China are caught in a protracted territorial dispute along the Line of Actual Control. The approval of a dam on a transboundary river adds another layer to an already strained bilateral relationship, making dialogue and trust-building even more challenging, especially given that the two Asian
RSS