During an interrogation session at the Hsinchu District Prosecutors' Office on June 9 about his company's alleged investment in China, United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) chairman Robert Tsao (
First, regarding operational know-how: Most of the sophisticated machines used in Taiwan's wafer-foundry industry are imported, and the industry does not possess the crucial technologies. Its success lies in the past assistance of the government, which put up a great amount of capital and offered a highly preferential tax policy. Its success also lies in the nation's high-quality talent, such as engineers with master's or doctoral degrees performing tasks that are often left to regular technicians in foreign semiconductor factories. As a result, we have developed the world's most efficient business process and yield control. This is what operational know-how is.
As for various manufacturing patents, they are simply the records of achievements made as part of building new factories and upgrading to better production processes. Their actual value is not high, and they are obtained to protect a company's rights rather as a tool of competition. Taiwanese chipmakers spend a massive amount of money applying for patents, and Taiwan is already in the top five countries in terms of the number of US patents it owns. But these companies' profits from patent authorization is extremely low.
This shows that for UMC or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's biggest contract chipmaker, their most valuable asset is their ability to raise funds and their operational know-how. Perhaps such expertise cannot be patented, but it is much more valuable than some impractical, transitional patents.
Second, on UMC's alleged violation of the law: The Web sites of UMC (www.umc.com.tw) and He Jian (www.hjtc.com.cn) are strikingly similar. Take He Jian's most advanced 0.18-micron chips for example. About 95 percent of the company's 0.18-micron "libraries" are the same as those of UMC.
If the government fails to severely punish those who break the law, chipmakers that abide by the law and operate in Taiwan will become fools, while breaking the law becomes the best shortcut for laggards to surpass competitors.
Third, on the damage to Taiwan's semiconductor industry: When China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp was established in 2000, it publicly vowed at a press conference in California to catch up to Taiwan and replace our wafer-foundry industry. Today, as a Chinese company, He Jian has also openly joined the array of companies seeking to replace or eliminate Taiwan's semiconductor industry -- with the help of UMC's most advanced manufacturing processes and even its clients. How can the government that nurtured UMC in the past and the law-abiding public possibly accept this?
What's worse, UMC has used Taiwan's resources and spent a lot of money to develop its manufacturing processes. Now, under the chairman's orders, the company has become He Jian's tool for business in China, completely disregarding the constraints of the government and its 900,000 shareholders. This method of harming Taiwan while benefiting China certainly deserves the government's and the public's harshest condemnation.
Tony Su is the convener of the technology section at the Taiwan Economics and Technology Thinktank.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS