This year’s Computex Taipei trade show took place last week, with nine technology industry heavyweights, including Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) and Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in attendance.
This year’s Computex also hosted about 1,500 foreign and domestic software and hardware companies, and manufacturers from 36 countries and regions. There were about 4,500 vendor stalls and booths, and the event drew tens of thousands of attendees from 150 countries.
After the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted its “Joint Sword-2024A” exercises around Taiwan on May 23 and 24, certain local media outlets joined in aiding the PLA in its attempts to manipulate Taiwanese using cognitive warfare.
Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) unleashed a tirade against Taiwan at the Shangri-La Dialogue international forum in Singapore at the end of last month, ranting about how it “would perish and be ground to dust.” He was full of bluster and threatened an offensive.
In spite of Dong’s ravings, Taiwanese have never been overly fearful of Chinese threats, nor have global tech industry leaders been cowed. Tech industry big shots carried on as normal, flying in from thousands of kilometers away to attend Computex.
There is no hint of hesitation on their part to “cross into dangerous territory.” On the contrary, they are all fiercely competing to set up research and development centers in Taiwan or up the ante with investment cooperation plans.
Gelsinger once boasted that within two years, Intel would beat its largest competitor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). To rationalize US President Joe Biden’s administration’s support for setting up a semiconductor factory in the US, Gelsinger several times painted a terrible picture full of hyperbole about how Taiwan is the most dangerous place in the world in terms of geopolitics.
In the end, he got his wish and walked away with US$19.5 billion in US government subsidies and loans. He has served as Intel’s CEO since February 2021.
This year’s Computex marked Gesinger’s sixth visit to Taiwan. In the first half of this year, Intel has greatly increased its orders for TSMC components to make up for sagging production in Intel’s own manufacturing process. Not even Intel can resist Taiwan.
During an interview on Columbia Broadcasting System’s 60 Minutes, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said that US export control measures were being brought into play.
“We have the most sophisticated semiconductors in the world. China doesn’t. We’ve out-innovated China,” Raimondo said.
Host Lesley Stahl kept up, asking her: “Well, ‘we,’ you mean Taiwan?” Raimondo responded with a quick “Fair.”
The hidden meaning behind the secretary’s words is: “They are our people, we do not need to clarify who exactly they are.”
Taiwan’s semiconductor technology is at the forefront and dominating the world, giving it world-altering geopolitical influence. This has bonded Taiwan with the US, in a mutually beneficial partnership. Taiwan now plays a role in the ups and downs of the global economy and in the convenience in people’s everyday lives, and has evolved into a precious entity that must be protected collaboratively.
“Taiwan is the unsung hero, a steadfast pillar of the world,” Huang has said.
Taiwan is serving as a one-of-a-kind tech hub for AI. Computex continues to garner accolades and honors, highlighting the economic importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Chen Yung-chang is a company manager.
Translated by Tim Smith
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