Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday called on the government to provide more equipment essential to advanced chipmaking, as it seeks to shore up its critical role in a US$550 billion industry.
Taiwan needs to build a fuller domestic semiconductor supply ecosystem, TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) told a conference organized by the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association.
Liu made the remarks in his farewell speech as chairman of the association. He is to be succeeded by TSMC vice president Cliff Hou (侯永清), who was elected yesterday.
Photo: CNA
US sanctions are curtailing the flow of vital technology to China, and Taiwan could play a bigger role in the global supply of machines needed to make chips, Liu said.
The TSMC chairman called on the government to assist Taiwan’s semiconductor companies to develop crucial technologies and enhance their capabilities to produce high-end semiconductor equipment and materials, saying it would help the nation fend off growing competition from China.
The US tightened its curbs on advanced semiconductor technology and equipment exports to China, which could change China’s role in local semiconductor component supply, Liu said.
The government should help businesses build a comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem to produce high-end manufacturing equipment and components, he said.
Liu said that some clauses in application guidelines for chip investment subsidies under the US’ CHIPS and Science Act are unacceptable.
South Korean memorychip maker SK Hynix Inc yesterday said that the application process is too demanding.
The South Korean government yesterday also said that the requirements that applicants disclose detailed technical and financial information, usually considered trade secrets, are onerous.
The US government demands that companies applying for subsidies under the CHIP and Science Act submit files containing information on how they calculate profits, the BusinessKorea magazine reported on Wednesday.
“We are still in discussions [with the US Department of Commerce]. Some conditions are unacceptable,” Liu said. “We hope [the department] will make some adjustments.”
The chipmaker’s operations in Taiwan would not be adversely affected by the US investment rules, Liu said.
TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, has pledged to double its US investment to US$40 billion, as it is planning to build two advanced chip fabs in Arizona.
The first fab is scheduled to begin producing chips on 4-nanometer nodes next year, while the second is to start producing 3-nanometer chips in 2026.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say