The world might be divided into a China camp and a US-Europe camp following the US ban on Huawei Technologies Co, and Taiwanese firms should be cautious and prepare contingencies, an article published on Friday by a Taiwanese academic said.
Entitled “The tightening of US technology export controls to China and its impact on Taiwan,” the article by Daphne Wang (王綉雯) appeared in the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s Chinese-language Defense Security Biweekly.
It cited a May 20 report to members of the US Congress that said the US approach to China over the past 40 years has “underestimated the will of the Chinese Communist Party to constrain the scope of economic and political reform in China,” and that the White House has adopted a “competitive approach” toward China “to respond to Beijing’s challenge.”
Photo: Tu Chu-min, Taipei Times
Fearing that it could fall behind China in the development of 5G technology, the US has asked its European allies to shift away from Huawei’s products, and its ban against US companies selling the tech giant’s computer chips is aimed at delaying Chinese 5G development, Wang said.
The US is increasingly aware of the incompatibility of its democratic government and free-market model with China’s military-civil fusion strategy, and the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a consensus to “stop Chinese expansion” throughout the US, she said.
Given these circumstances, Taiwanese businesses are likely to find it difficult to profit from both the US and China, she said.
An announcement by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) on May 15 that it would build a factory in Arizona coincided with an announcement that the company was no longer accepting orders from Huawei, Wang added.
Although this could bring short-term benefits to companies such as MediaTek and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co over the medium to long-term, the US would not tolerate Taiwanese companies double-dipping or assisting China in developing its semiconductor industry, she said.
The US ban would affect everything from upstream IC design to downstream package testing and the manufacturing of components and smartphones, all of which are Taiwanese business interests, Wang wrote.
TSMC’s Arizona plant could spearhead an influx of Taiwanese investment in the US, which, along with the existing US supply chain, could form a new industrial ecology, she said.
The US is seeking cooperation from allies to form what it calls the “Economy Prosperity Network” to reduce reliance on China and establish standards across energy, infrastructure, research, trade, education and commerce, she said.
The US is also interested in a UK-proposed alliance of 10 democracies to create an alternative pool of suppliers of 5G equipment, dubbed the “D10,” Wang wrote.
The Chinese government’s response to the D10 is the “China Standard 2035” plan, a set of global standards for emerging technologies, such as 5G Internet, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, she added.
Until one side can completely “crush” the other, the world is likely to be divided into the two technology camps, Wang wrote.
Should the US strategy of trying to contain China while delaying its development of 5G technology succeed, it would mean that a China-developed 5G system could only be deployed within China, a possibility for which Taiwanese businesses should prepare contingency plans, she said.
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