The idea of Taiwan as an “economic fortress” is that its economy should be upgraded and the nation be turned into an important global economic hub, so that if that hub is destroyed, it would paralyze the global economy.
Taiwan’s national security would be guaranteed if the world recognized its interconnectedness.
Can Taiwan achieve this? The answer is that over the past two decades, it has laid the foundation. After a major earthquake in central Taiwan on Sept. 21, 1999, the New York Stock Exchange and other global stock markets fell sharply, as investors worried that semiconductor foundries in Hsinchu Science Park were damaged.
Today, more than two decades later, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has expanded far beyond its past scale. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s 3-nanometer technology leads the industry worldwide, and its 2-nanometer technology is expected to be available by 2025.
Taiwan’s semiconductor output value exceeds NT$3 trillion (US$105.6 billion), and its global market share has reached 19.9 percent, second only to the US at 42.9 percent.
Taiwan has become an out-and-out “silicon shield.”
The US-China conflict stretches across semiconductors, data, 5G mobile networks, the Internet, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and information technology.
With its Belt and Road Initiative, China seeks to reset the global order based on Chinese standards and challenge the US dominance.
In response to Beijing’s “digital authoritarianism,” the US urgently needs to coordinate with countries that share its values of democracy and freedom, and establish an alliance of free economies and a digital alliance to counter China.
The US would certainly want Taiwan to join the alliance. As long as Taiwan and the US work together to link their combined 63.8 percent of global semiconductor output, and their research and development capabilities, keeping “the mother of all industries” — the semiconductor industry — under the control of Taiwan, the US and other Western countries, Taiwan would become the key to life or death for those democracies.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration in August last year announced that Taiwan would ease restrictions on US beef and pork imports, untangling the knot that has been an obstacle in Taiwan-US relations for many years. In response, the US immediately announced the launch of a new high-level annual economic dialogue with Taiwan, focused strongly on semiconductor supply chains.
This dialogue was initially chaired by then-US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Keith Krach.
Soon after the dialogue that was launched on Nov. 20, Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and American Institute in Taiwan Managing Director Ingrid Larson in a virtual ceremony on Dec. 15 signed an greement on scientific and technology cooperation — with Krach as witness online.
The agreement is the first visible outcome of the dialogue.
It will help enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries and ensure that Taiwan is a reliable partner for the US.
Everything is difficult in the beginning, but the formation of a Taiwan-US economic alliance is realistic, and the fundamental requirements are already in place.
Last year, the visits of delegations led by Krach and then-US secretary of health and human services Alex Azar opened the door to such an alliance.
On New Year’s Day, the US National Security Council on Twitter praised Taiwan’s easing of the restrictions on US pork imports and pointed to further economic cooperation between the countries.
With all the requirements in place and under the right circumstances, the Taiwanese economy, especially the semiconductor sector, should work toward the goal of a Taiwan-US economic and technological alliance.
Within a decade, “economic fortress Taiwan” will sit at the center of the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy. Taiwan should also link up with Japan and include it in the alliance. This should be Taiwan’s main priority.
Huang Tien-lin is a former advisory member of the National Security Council.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
A foreign colleague of mine asked me recently, “What is a safe distance from potential People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force’s (PLARF) Taiwan targets?” This article will answer this question and help people living in Taiwan have a deeper understanding of the threat. Why is it important to understand PLA/PLARF targeting strategy? According to RAND analysis, the PLA’s “systems destruction warfare” focuses on crippling an adversary’s operational system by targeting its networks, especially leadership, command and control (C2) nodes, sensors, and information hubs. Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, noted in his 15 May 2025 Sedona Forum keynote speech that, as
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) last week announced that the KMT was launching “Operation Patriot” in response to an unprecedented massive campaign to recall 31 KMT legislators. However, his action has also raised questions and doubts: Are these so-called “patriots” pledging allegiance to the country or to the party? While all KMT-proposed campaigns to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have failed, and a growing number of local KMT chapter personnel have been indicted for allegedly forging petition signatures, media reports said that at least 26 recall motions against KMT legislators have passed the second signature threshold
In a world increasingly defined by unpredictability, two actors stand out as islands of stability: Europe and Taiwan. One, a sprawling union of democracies, but under immense pressure, grappling with a geopolitical reality it was not originally designed for. The other, a vibrant, resilient democracy thriving as a technological global leader, but living under a growing existential threat. In response to rising uncertainties, they are both seeking resilience and learning to better position themselves. It is now time they recognize each other not just as partners of convenience, but as strategic and indispensable lifelines. The US, long seen as the anchor
The Central Election Commission (CEC) on Friday announced that recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) have been approved, and that a recall vote would take place on July 26. Of the recall motions against 35 KMT legislators, 31 were reviewed by the CEC after they exceeded the second-phase signature thresholds. Twenty-four were approved, five were asked to submit additional signatures to make up for invalid ones and two are still being reviewed. The mass recall vote targeting so many lawmakers at once is unprecedented in Taiwan’s political history. If the KMT loses more