US President Joe Biden signing the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act would have little bearing on individual countries’ advantages in the semiconductor industry, experts said at a forum yesterday.
Biden last month signed into law the act that includes about US$52 billion in funding to boost the US’ domestic semiconductor research and development.
The Legislative Yuan’s Digital Information and Governance Innovation Association, and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Shih-fang’s (劉世芳) office yesterday held a forum discussing the act’s effects on Taiwanese industry as well as geopolitics.
The semiconductor industry is a sector with a global division of labor: Taiwan specializes in manufacturing, and packaging and testing, the US focuses on design, and South Korea excels at computer memory units, said Chi Chao-yin (紀昭吟), deputy director of the Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center at the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
Ninety percent of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) production takes place in Taiwan and it plans to set up new wafer fabs in Taiwan, the US and Japan, she said.
Expanding its manufacturing plants abroad can help TSMC further consolidate its highly competitive position, and promote cooperation between semiconductor industries in Taiwan and the US, Chi said.
The act stipulates that businesses sponsored by the US government cannot invest in China or other countries that are unfriendly to the US for 10 years, with the exception of manufacturing legacy semiconductors, 28-nanometer or larger chips, she said, adding that the act would only have a limited effect.
The US lacks the labor force to manufacture the number of wafers planned in the act, so it might recruit 3,500 high-tech workers from abroad, which means some of Taiwan’s semiconductor talent might move to the US, Chi said.
Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research economist Roy Lee (李淳) said that the US aims to reshuffle the semiconductor supply chain by focusing on economic security and strategic autonomy, winning the strategic competition with China and maintaining the leading position in technologies and relevant regulations.
The US hopes to reduce its reliance on China and imports, and overcome its weakness in manufacturing as well as research and development, he said.
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry mainly provides original equipment manufacturing services and is in line with the interests of the US, which has a competitive relationship with South Korea, he said.
Taiwan should let the US accept that “Taiwan’s strengths are the US’ strengths, so empowering Taiwan is empowering the US,” he added.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said: “Taiwan should highlight its absolute advantages at the moment” as the world is reliant on Taiwan, but added that the nation has to be cautious and humble.
He likened the semiconductor industry to a Formula One race: Taiwan is an excellent driver, but the race cars are from the US and the chemical materials are from Japan, adding that without trust between these allies, Taiwan would be unable to maintain productivity.
Taiwan should nurture more talent and tighten security regulations on technology to maintain its position as one of the world leaders in the semiconductor industry, he said.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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