President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday awarded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) the Order of Propitious Clouds, First Class.
At the ceremony, Tsai said the medal was for the tech guru’s contribution to Taiwan’s IC industry, as well as the development of the local high-tech sector.
The Order of Propitious Clouds is awarded to civil servants who have made great contributions to the nation and to civilians and foreigners for outstanding civic merit.
Photo: CNA
Chang is the first person from the business sector to receive the Order of Propitious Clouds, First Class.
Tsai said she greatly respected Chang and considered him a good friend, adding that she often asks him for advice on how to promote national policies and has learned a lot from the TSMC founder.
Chang brought advanced IC know-how to Taiwan from the US, where he received a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate from Stanford University, helping Taiwan build a comprehensive IC industry incorporating upstream and downstream sectors, she said.
In 1985, the government recruited Chang to run the Industrial Technology Research Institute, a decision that perhaps altered the course of science and technology in Taiwan forever, Tsai said.
As head of the institute, Chang was in charge of promoting industrial and technological development in Taiwan. He combined his experience working in the semiconductor industry with a rising trend of outsourcing to found TSMC.
Since its establishment in 1987, TSMC has become the world’s leading semiconductor foundry, commanding a global market share of more than 50 percent.
TSMC has continued to developed critical IC technology in Taiwan, Tsai said, a reference to the company’s plan to build a sophisticated 3-nanometer process wafer fab in Tainan, which is expected to serve as a hub to supply chips for cloud-computing and artificial intelligence applications, as well as 5G devices.
Addressing the ceremony, Chang, who in June retired as chairman of TSMC after serving with the company for more than 30 years, said the world’s largest contract chipmaker is a very successful company, but it also faces stiff competition from firms in several countries such as the US, China and Japan, which have been motivated by rising nationalism.
Amid escalating statism, TSMC needs fair competition in order to grow, he said.
In addition to international competition, the local IC industry also faces a shortage of resources, including land, water, electricity and talent, Chang said, urging the government to give the tech sector the support it needs to prosper.
Chang said he has faith in TSMC’s new leadership and expects the company to expand and make more contributions to the nation.
In June, Mark Liu (劉德音) succeeded Chang as chairman of the company’s board and C.C. Wei (魏哲家) has served as TSMC’s vice chairman and CEO, establishing a dual leadership system.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS