Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers this week voiced concerns that a recent pledge by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to invest more in the US could threaten national security.
TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) and US President Donald Trump on Monday in Washington announced that the company is to invest an additional US$100 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in the US.
The pledge was for three semiconductor foundries, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
That would be on top of the US$65 billion TSMC has already committed to invest in three chip fabs, one of which has begun operations.
In an interview on Wednesday, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said he was worried about what Taiwan would be left with if the ability to manufacture all the most advanced chips, including the 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer processes, were deployed in the US.
If a cross-strait war were to occur, the US would possess the most advanced and high-end chip manufacturing processes, leaving Taiwan with nothing to safeguard, Fu said.
Asked whether TSMC’s investment would minimize the impact on the US if China were to isolate or take Taiwan, Trump said it would make the US a “very big part” of the business.
“So it would have a big impact if something should happen with Taiwan,” he said.
KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) on Wednesday said that the additional US$100 billion TSMC pledged to invest was more than the central government’s total budget for this year.
She said that while the investment seemed to put Trump at ease, the government has yet to explain to the public what the nation got in return.
There has been no explanation whether the investment would keep Taiwan exempt from trade wars or how Taiwan is to keep its semiconductor advantage, she said.
The Presidential Office on Tuesday promised that the government would ensure TSMC keeps its most advanced processes in Taiwan.
TSMC is expected to begin mass production of 2-nanometer chips in Taiwan in the second half of this year, followed by 1.6-nanometer chips next year. Its first factory in Arizona is using the 4-nanometer process.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that the US would gain manufacturing skills and talent, while Taiwan would lose its semiconductor manufacturing and development base and talent.
He questioned why the Democratic Progressive Party was not willing to stand on the front lines as Taiwan faces an artificial intelligence war and trade war.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said TSMC’s investment plans took into account its long-term competitiveness and the demands of global clients.
The move would help strengthen the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain, the ministry said, expressing its “unwavering” stance to support Taiwan’s advanced industries to keep their roots in Taiwan, regardless of how they deploy globally.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS