In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.”
That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1 trillion per year by some accounts. That sounds like something people might bat an eyelid at.
Context is everything; we need to understand what Oeuillet was saying. His point was that Japan and South Korea, with Thailand next in line, have successfully developed their creative industries to the extent that entertainers and productions have become household names around the world. Oeuillet was not talking about industry heads, company CEOs, national leaders or geopolitical analysts. He was talking about cultural exports as soft power, as a way of getting members of the public to prick up their ears and pay attention.
If Japan, South Korea and Thailand can do it, he asked, why not Taiwan?
Soft power is the provision of something of value to people, that gives them a reason to care, or to become alert if the continued provision of that thing is threatened, and to miss it were it to be taken away.
Taiwan certainly has the talent to create cultural exports that other countries would be interested in, even if the support and funding is lacking. TSMC could still be used to get the message across. Those concerned with the preservation of Taiwan’s freedom and sovereignty in the face of the threat from the CCP are aware of the conundrum. It is not enough to provide information; one has also to find a way to get the recipient of that information interested enough to engage with it.
It is clear that TSMC — and by extension Taiwan’s continued sovereign, independent existence — is crucial to politicians, planners, strategists and CEOs. It is less obvious how to get that message across to a woman in Denmark who knows about K-pop, but has no real reason to care about TSMC.
It is no wonder when you read the kind of articles written about semiconductors. Who, apart from those already in the know, could get enthused about 3-nanometer processes, disrupted global supply chains, dense power delivery networks, lithography machines or semiconductor ecosystems? Who knows the difference between semiconductors, chips, integrated circuits or microchips?
For people to care, they would need to understand the implications of having their chips taken away. No semiconductors means no smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs or video games; it means airplanes would be grounded, and modern trains and cars would not operate. It would be the end to X-rays, MRIs and ATMs.
In other words, when an analyst says US$1 trillion would be wiped from the global economy, it kind of sounds like someone else’s problem.
When it becomes impossible to replace your smartphone or computer with a new device, things hit home. When you cannot travel because the flights are grounded or prohibitively expensive due to low availability, you are stuck where you are.
Other countries have the ability to produce semiconductors, but TSMC continues to be at the cutting edge of the industry, producing the most advanced chips. Yes, we know that, but how many people are aware of exactly how the removal of TSMC from the global supply chain would impact them? The trick is how to convey that message, and how to convert it into actionable soft power.
This is where Blackpink meets TSMC.
Many foreigners, particularly Germans, are struck by the efficiency of Taiwan’s administration in routine matters. Driver’s licenses, household registrations and similar procedures are handled swiftly, often decided on the spot, and occasionally even accompanied by preferential treatment. However, this efficiency does not extend to all areas of government. Any foreigner with long-term residency in Taiwan — just like any Taiwanese — would have encountered the opposite: agencies, most notably the police, refusing to accept complaints and sending applicants away at the counter without consideration. This kind of behavior, although less common in other agencies, still occurs far too often. Two cases
In a summer of intense political maneuvering, Taiwanese, whose democratic vibrancy is a constant rebuke to Beijing’s authoritarianism, delivered a powerful verdict not on China, but on their own political leaders. Two high-profile recall campaigns, driven by the ruling party against its opposition, collapsed in failure. It was a clear signal that after months of bitter confrontation, the Taiwanese public is demanding a shift from perpetual campaign mode to the hard work of governing. For Washington and other world capitals, this is more than a distant political drama. The stability of Taiwan is vital, as it serves as a key player
Yesterday’s recall and referendum votes garnered mixed results for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). All seven of the KMT lawmakers up for a recall survived the vote, and by a convincing margin of, on average, 35 percent agreeing versus 65 percent disagreeing. However, the referendum sponsored by the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on restarting the operation of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County failed. Despite three times more “yes” votes than “no,” voter turnout fell short of the threshold. The nation needs energy stability, especially with the complex international security situation and significant challenges regarding
Most countries are commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II with condemnations of militarism and imperialism, and commemoration of the global catastrophe wrought by the war. On the other hand, China is to hold a military parade. According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, Beijing is conducting the military parade in Tiananmen Square on Sept. 3 to “mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.” However, during World War II, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) had not yet been established. It
RSS