Taipei, Oct. 10 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Monday in her National Day speech that Taiwan’s semiconductor development is the “key” to the global integrated circuit industry not a “risk” as some have suggested, and the nation will continue to maintain its lead in advanced IC technology development.
“I want to specifically emphasize one point to my fellow citizens and the international community, which is that the concentration of the semiconductor sector in Taiwan is not a risk, but is the key to the reorganization of the global semiconductor industry,” Tsai said.
“We will continue to maintain Taiwan’s advantages and capacity in leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing processes, and will help optimize the worldwide restructuring of the semiconductor supply chain, giving our semiconductor firms an even more prominent global role,” Tsai added.
Taiwan’s dominating position in the global semiconductor manufacturing has raised concerns that if China attacked, the global economy would suffer from the damage to the island’s IC capability.
In late September, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that if Taiwan is attacked, the global economy could face devastation as most semiconductors in the world are produced there.
Blinken said in an interview with CBS’s 60 minutes: “Taiwan itself, were anything to happen, it is where virtually all the semiconductors are made.”
“If that’s disrupted, the effects that that would have on the global economy could be devastating,” the U.S. top diplomat said, expressing worries over the impact resulting from a fall in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.
In addition, Bloomberg cited unnamed sources as saying in a report last weekend that Washington is considering evacuating Taiwanese semiconductor engineers in the case of an invasion by Beijing.
“The question occupying U.S. and Taiwanese officials is the fate of the island’s flagship semiconductor industry,” the report said.
In her speech, Tsai emphasized that Taiwan, having played a critical role in semiconductor and information and communications technologies, is determined to catch up in other fields to maintain its industrial strength, at a time when the global supply chain is undergoing restructuring amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, Tsai pledged Taiwan is determined to work to ensure the security of the country’s infrastructure to quickly respond to any economic shocks.
“We will still be able to maintain the normal functioning of our industrial sector and society through the effective allocation and stable supply of key goods,” Tsai said.
In her National Day speech, Tsai pledged to strengthen the local semiconductor industry as part of the country’s measures to respond to the changing economic landscape and to manage global industrial development.
To further integrate with the world, Tsai said, Taiwan will continue to pursue economic cooperation and exchanges with the countries targeted by the government’s New Southbound Policy, the Indo-Pacific region and Central and Eastern Europe.
“Through collaboration in cutting-edge technologies, reciprocal investment, financial support, and other means, we are building more resilient global supply chains and distribution networks,” Tsai said.
The New Southbound Policy aims to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and 18 countries in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, in a bid to reduce Taiwan’s dependence on China.
On Sunday, Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花) led a delegation to the U.S. for the first physical meeting under the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration framework, which was set up in late 2021 to promote two-way investment, study industry trends, and explore new opportunities and investment in the U.S. market.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Wang will talk with U.S. officials about the importance of Taiwan’s security to global industrial development at the meeting as well as discuss supply chain issues.
(By Yeh Su-ping, Matt Yu and Frances Huang)
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