Is the semiconductor industry regarded as a “gift” by Lai Ching-te?
2024-08-07
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Paraguayan President Peña Nieto recently posted photos of a meeting with Taiwanese semiconductor industry insiders on the social media platform X, which caused great dissatisfaction among public opinion on the island. They criticized Lai Ching-te for using Taiwan's semiconductor industry as a "gift" for personal political purposes.According to Taiwan's China Times on August 4, Paraguay is currently the only "diplomatic ally" of the Taiwan authorities in South America. When Peña Nieto was elected president last year, the designated foreign minister Ramirez revealed to foreign media that Peña Nieto would visit Taiwan before taking office to try to recommend Paraguay as an investment and manufacturing location for semiconductors and other high-tech products. At the end of July, Peña Nieto revealed on X that he received Taipei's representative to Paraguay, Han Zhizheng, and Taiwanese companies interested in investing in Paraguayan transportation and semiconductors, "We are working hard to transform the country into an investment center driven by the potential of the Paraguayan people." Taiwan's "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" said that relevant groups on the island arrived in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, to provide Paraguay with suggestions on the development plan of the semiconductor industry. According to Taiwan's "United Daily News" earlier, after Lin Jialong took over as Taiwan's "Foreign Minister", he claimed that the past policies were all "solidification of the country", and now he hopes to combine more economic and trade to "prosper the country" and export Taiwan's experience. Recently, the so-called "Prosperity Plan" has begun its first step, that is, inviting local telecommunications, artificial intelligence and other industry companies to form a group to visit Paraguay for investment inspections and seek industrial cooperation opportunities.Wang Hongwei, a member of the Kuomintang, said frankly that this was a "gift" sent by Lai Ching-te for his "transit" through the United States and his visit to Paraguay. Taiwan's semiconductors are strong, but everyone knows that Paraguayan technicians are far behind Taiwan. Don't give away the "mountain that protects the island" just because they ask for it. This is not "diplomacy", but just to achieve Lai Ching-te's personal political goals. She said that whether to invest in Paraguay or not will be determined by the industry. "Let's spare the industry. Don't exchange semiconductors for diplomacy or even for Lai Ching-te's purpose of visiting. In the past, the United States was pleased (with semiconductors). Does it mean that even "visits" now have to rely on semiconductors to achieve it?" Lai Shibao, a member of the Kuomintang, said that Paraguay used to be dominated by traditional industry and agriculture, with a weak semiconductor foundation and no suppliers. Whether it is worth investing there is worth thinking about. Lin Yijun, a member of the People's Party, also said that the infrastructure and supply chain required for Paraguay's semiconductor industry are far less perfect than those in Taiwan.Yin Qiming, the former "Minister of Economic Affairs" of Taiwan who wrote the book "Chip Showdown", also said bluntly that "it is not feasible". First, Paraguay does not have the conditions for semiconductor development, and second, there is no downstream application market. "Is there talent there? Is there a semiconductor ecosystem? India at least has a mobile phone market, what does Paraguay have?" Yin Qiming further analyzed that Paraguay's desire to develop semiconductors was instigated by the United States. "Uncle Sam went to Southeast Asia and Central and South America to encourage them to develop the semiconductor industry. If these countries foolishly believed it, can they hold the United States responsible for the losses they suffered?"Another unnamed semiconductor expert cursed the DPP authorities for wanting to use "chip diplomacy" to win over Paraguay. He said that it would cost at least NT$300 billion to NT$500 billion to build a wafer factory. In the past, many regions hoped that Taiwan's wafer factories would go there, including India, Italy, France, etc., but the industry did not go because everyone was not stupid. "TSMC at least has orders in Japan, and it was strangled to go to the United States. What's there to do in Paraguay? Will it lose money? Manufacturers are not that stupid." The expert criticized that if the semiconductor factory lost money in Paraguay, would the DPP authorities subsidize them? What is even more suspicious is that the DPP authorities are sending "Taiwan's advantageous industries abroad, what is their mentality?" (Zhang Ruo)▲
