The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) decision to set up a manufacturing plant in the U.S. continues to generate shockwaves in Taiwan. TSMC held a groundbreaking ceremony for its plant earlier this month, with high profile guests, including President Biden, also in attendance. The event was marked though by the company’s founder Dr. Morris Chang’s controversial statement that globalization is dead, and it was followed by concerns raised by the opposition party in Taiwan that the company is moving away to the U.S. and depriving the island region of a crucial advantage in the global supply chain. Now, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has shared her opinion on the matter, with academics and more opposition members also pitching in. The President agrees with TSMC chief Dr. C.C. Wei who has previously highlighted that ‘de Taiwanization’ is not an option for the company, even as her opposition worries that TSMC will lose its place in Taiwanese national security as it starts expanding internationally.
Taiwan’s KMT Says TSMC Flourished During Its Tenure In Government & Should Be Enticed To Remain In Taiwan
In a rare briefing, President Tsai addressed members of the Taiwanese press earlier today, where unsurprisingly, the question of TSMC’s plans to expand overseas also came up. When asked if TSMC was de-Taiwanizing after building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the U.S., the President quoted the firm’s current and former executives to highlight that these concerns are unfounded. She quoted Dr. Wei and outlined that TSMC’s top executive believes that moving away from Taiwan is not an option for the company. She added that TSMC’s founder Dr. Chang had stated multiple times that Taiwan is the perfect place for the company to invest since it has not only a highly professional but that the region also a robust industrial cluster necessary to support semiconductor manufacturing. The process is highly dependant on a wide variety of different inputs such as chemicals and clean water - which then leads to firms setting up in close vicinity of manufacturing facilities to provide companies such as TSMC with the inputs. Another press conference, held by the Taiwanese opposition party KMT, was more colorful as they raised various concerns about TSMC’s decision to set up the American plant. At the event, KMT leaders claimed that their party was the one who had stimulated TSMC, and now the government should do all in its power to ensure that the firm has a hospitable environment in Taiwan. Additionally, they wondered if the number of chips TSMC produces in the U.S. facility will be greater than its output in Taiwan, if the firm will lose its leading edge technologies and whether it will be able to ‘protect’ Taiwan and keep its yield rates secret. In response, the ruling party said that all these concerns have previously been addressed by both the government and TSMC itself, adding that the main concern on the government’s mind is whether TSMC might lose any talent to hostile nations. Taiwan’s economic minister, Ms. Weng Mei-hua, has previously stated that just because TSMC has opened a plant in America does not mean that it is a ‘U.S. manufacturing company.’ Finally, the director of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research’s Macroeconomic Forecasting Center, Dr. Sun Ming-te also held a press conference of his own where he commented on Taiwan’s macroeconomic outlook. Naturally, questions about the effects of TSMC’s U.S. chip plant were also raised, and the scholar was quite optimistic about the development. He even likened the decision to Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and outlined that it is necessary for TSMC to ‘attack’ rivals such as Intel Corporation and Samsung Foundry. Dr. Sun pointed out that by moving to the U.S., TSMC can use American resources to expand its global presence and assuage customer concerns about supply chain security. He added that moving to the U.S. will also enable the company to take on Intel and Samsung - both of which also have a strong presence in the country. Dr. Sun also rejected Dr. Chang’s statements that globalization is dead, by pointing out that as opposed to globalization referring to companies selling their products all over the globe, it now refers to firms producing their products all over the world.
title: “Tsmc S U S Plant Will Let It Attack Intel Samsung Says Scholar” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-22” author: “Tiffany Hines”
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) decision to set up a manufacturing plant in the U.S. continues to generate shockwaves in Taiwan. TSMC held a groundbreaking ceremony for its plant earlier this month, with high profile guests, including President Biden, also in attendance. The event was marked though by the company’s founder Dr. Morris Chang’s controversial statement that globalization is dead, and it was followed by concerns raised by the opposition party in Taiwan that the company is moving away to the U.S. and depriving the island region of a crucial advantage in the global supply chain. Now, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has shared her opinion on the matter, with academics and more opposition members also pitching in. The President agrees with TSMC chief Dr. C.C. Wei who has previously highlighted that ‘de Taiwanization’ is not an option for the company, even as her opposition worries that TSMC will lose its place in Taiwanese national security as it starts expanding internationally.
Taiwan’s KMT Says TSMC Flourished During Its Tenure In Government & Should Be Enticed To Remain In Taiwan
In a rare briefing, President Tsai addressed members of the Taiwanese press earlier today, where unsurprisingly, the question of TSMC’s plans to expand overseas also came up. When asked if TSMC was de-Taiwanizing after building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the U.S., the President quoted the firm’s current and former executives to highlight that these concerns are unfounded. She quoted Dr. Wei and outlined that TSMC’s top executive believes that moving away from Taiwan is not an option for the company. She added that TSMC’s founder Dr. Chang had stated multiple times that Taiwan is the perfect place for the company to invest since it has not only a highly professional but that the region also a robust industrial cluster necessary to support semiconductor manufacturing. The process is highly dependant on a wide variety of different inputs such as chemicals and clean water - which then leads to firms setting up in close vicinity of manufacturing facilities to provide companies such as TSMC with the inputs. Another press conference, held by the Taiwanese opposition party KMT, was more colorful as they raised various concerns about TSMC’s decision to set up the American plant. At the event, KMT leaders claimed that their party was the one who had stimulated TSMC, and now the government should do all in its power to ensure that the firm has a hospitable environment in Taiwan. Additionally, they wondered if the number of chips TSMC produces in the U.S. facility will be greater than its output in Taiwan, if the firm will lose its leading edge technologies and whether it will be able to ‘protect’ Taiwan and keep its yield rates secret. In response, the ruling party said that all these concerns have previously been addressed by both the government and TSMC itself, adding that the main concern on the government’s mind is whether TSMC might lose any talent to hostile nations. Taiwan’s economic minister, Ms. Weng Mei-hua, has previously stated that just because TSMC has opened a plant in America does not mean that it is a ‘U.S. manufacturing company.’ Finally, the director of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research’s Macroeconomic Forecasting Center, Dr. Sun Ming-te also held a press conference of his own where he commented on Taiwan’s macroeconomic outlook. Naturally, questions about the effects of TSMC’s U.S. chip plant were also raised, and the scholar was quite optimistic about the development. He even likened the decision to Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and outlined that it is necessary for TSMC to ‘attack’ rivals such as Intel Corporation and Samsung Foundry. Dr. Sun pointed out that by moving to the U.S., TSMC can use American resources to expand its global presence and assuage customer concerns about supply chain security. He added that moving to the U.S. will also enable the company to take on Intel and Samsung - both of which also have a strong presence in the country. Dr. Sun also rejected Dr. Chang’s statements that globalization is dead, by pointing out that as opposed to globalization referring to companies selling their products all over the globe, it now refers to firms producing their products all over the world.
