Taiwan touts 'democracy chips' in meeting with US state governor
TAIWAN wants to ensure its partners have reliable supplies of semiconductors, or “democracy chips”, President Tsai Ing-wen told the governor of the US state of Indiana on Monday (Aug 22), saying China’s threats mean fellow democracies have to cooperate.
Governor Eric Holcomb, a Republican, is making the third trip to Taiwan this month by a US delegation after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited briefly, infuriating China, which views Taiwan as its own territory.
A week after her visit, 5 US lawmakers, led by Senator Ed Markey, travelled to Taiwan.
China staged extensive military exercises near Taiwan after Pelosi’s visit. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
Tsai told Holcomb during a meeting at her office in Taipei: “Taiwan has been confronted by military threats from China, in and around the Taiwan Strait. At this moment, democratic allies must stand together and boost cooperation across all areas.”
Her remarks were carried live on her social media pages.
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China’s Foreign Ministry said it had lodged “stern representations” with the United States about Holcomb’s trip.
“China always firmly opposes the US conducting official exchanges with Taiwan in any form or under any guise,” it said in a statement.
Holcomb is due to meet representatives of Taiwan’s semiconductor companies on his visit amid an expansion of links between his state and the island, which is home to the world’s largest contact chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).
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“Economic security is an important pillar of national and regional security,” Tsai said. “Taiwan is willing and able to strengthen cooperation with democratic partners in building sustainable supply chains for democracy chips.”
Holcomb talked of the efforts his state was making in supporting the tech industry, pointing to a June announcement by Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc, the world’s fourth largest chip designer by revenue, of a new design centre in Indiana in partnership with Purdue University.
“We look so forward to working with them in designing the future,” he said.
Holcomb said Taiwan offered some of the best high-technology talent in the world. “We’re facing and specifically seeking to turn supply chain pains into supply chain gains. I think the way we get there faster, in a more resilient fashion, is by doing it together,” he told reporters.
He oversaw the signing of a cooperation agreement between Purdue and Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturer Wistron Corp, with company chairman Simon Lin mentioning opportunities to collaborate on areas like cybersecurity and smart factories.
Taiwan has been keen to show the United States, its most important international backer, that it is a reliable friend as a global chip crunch impacts auto production and consumer electronics.
Tsai said Indiana stood to become a centre for chip technology following this month’s signing into law of a US act to subsidise the domestic semiconductor industry as it competes with Chinese and other foreign manufacturers.
TSMC is building a US$12 billion plant in the US state of Arizona. REUTERS
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