A delegation of Taiwanese lawmakers on Thursday met with US officials in Washington to discuss several issues, including the flow of chips made in Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.
The delegation met with officials of the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, accompanied by Ingrid Larson, the managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Washington office.
The bureau voiced concern about possible “origin washing” of Chinese products and Taiwan’s high-end chips reaching third parties restricted by the US through illicit means, Wang said after the meeting.
Photo: CNA
The Taiwanese delegation proposed law enforcement cooperation to tackle that problem, he said, adding that Taiwan’s exclusion from Interpol put it at a disadvantage and made it hard to track users who acquire their chips through indirect means.
Acknowledging the need to prevent Taiwanese chips from reaching China, he said that while it is a business issue for the US, Taiwan is concerned its chips might end up with a “third party aiming missiles at our country.”
He cited as an example a possible breach of US export controls by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), after a chip it made ended up in an artificial intelligence processor produced by Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co, a Reuters report on April 8 said.
TSMC could face a penalty of US$1 billion or more to settle the case, the report said.
The delegation also met with former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier in the day.
“As Beijing’s threats grow louder, our support for Taiwan’s security, economy and democracy is unwavering,” Pelosi wrote on social media after the meeting.
Their visit to Washington coincided with the stepping down of Mike Waltz as US national security adviser.
Waltz was later nominated as the ambassador to the UN by US President Donald Trump.
The delegation’s leader, Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), said that Taiwan-US ties would remain stable despite the changes, adding that the US Congress maintains a unanimous stance on Taiwan.
While the administrations of Trump and former US president Joe Biden might differ in their approaches, their overall position toward Taiwan remains consistent, he said.
Waltz would still be able to deal with issues involving Taiwan if he takes on the role as the UN ambassador, Chiang said.
The delegation of lawmakers also includes Chang Chih-lun (張智倫) and Huang Chien-hao (黃健豪) of the KMT, Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) of the Taiwan People’s Party, and Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) and Ngalim Tiunn (張雅琳) of the DPP.
In addition the the US Department of Commerce, they have visited the intelligence, foreign affairs and armed services committees of the US Congress, the US-Taiwan Business Council, the Heritage Foundation think tank and former AIT chair Laura Rosenberger.
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