A new list of core technologies, including semiconductor process technologies, that are subject to tighter controls is not likely to affect Taiwanese vendors, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony where an agreement was signed on the formation of a 5G alliance in Taiwan, Wang said that the government had discussions with local chipmakers before the list was released.
“I do not think the controls will have any negative impact on Taiwanese semiconductor suppliers,” Wang said. “Instead, the controls aim to protect [Taiwan-developed] critical technologies.”
Photo courtesy of Ministry of Economic Affairs
On Tuesday, the National Science and Technology Council announced a set of 22 technologies subject to tight controls in five major areas: defense, aerospace, agriculture, semiconductors, and information and communications technology.
The 22 technologies include 14-nanometer and more advanced chipmaking process technologies and advanced IC packaging and testing technologies, including processes involving silicon photonics integration development and related specialty raw materials and equipment.
The National Security Act (國家安全法) stipulates that people who steal key technologies and leak them to China, Macau, Hong Kong or external hostile forces may be imprisoned for up to 12 years and fined up to two times the profit they garner.
Wang also cited the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), which states that companies that receive subsidies equal to more than 50 percent of their costs in developing critical technologies should secure approval before sending employees to China.
Industrial Development Administration Director-General Lien Ching-chang (連錦漳) on Tuesday said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is unlikely to be negatively affected by the technology controls.
TSMC deploys technologies in Taiwan that are more advanced than 14-nanometer processes, while in China it uses 14-to-16-nanometer processes, which account for 10 to 12 percent of its total sales.
“I don’t expect TSMC to be bothered by the newly announced technology controls,” Lien said, adding that the controls on 14-nanometer or more advanced processes were in line with international standards, referring to the US.
Taiwan accounts for more than 70 percent of global production of 14-nanometer and more advanced chips.
Smaller contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) said it would follow the new tech controls, adding that 14-nanometer process technology deployment is limited to Taiwan, while it uses 22 and 28-nanometer processes in China.
Taiwan Institute of Economics Research researcher Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said the government’s move to tighten controls on critical technologies is needed, as Taiwan not only has to build a local semiconductor supply chain, but also must prevent leaks, in particular at a time when China is keen to poach Taiwanese engineers.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors