Taiwan Vows to Safeguard Interests Through 'Chip 4'

Image copyright: Reuters

The Facts

  • On Wednesday, Taiwan's Deputy Economy Minister, Chen Chern-chyi, said Taiwan will rely on the "Chip 4" alliance to protect the interests of local semiconductor companies. He also addressed concerns about the potential impact of this initiative on the country's tech industries.

  • Chen also said Chip 4 - comprising Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US - seeks to create a resilient and stable supply chain of semiconductors.


The Spin

Pro-China narrative

This is an unacceptable attempt by Taiwan to foster more independence by joining an international organization whose goal is to undermine the PRC. With the way Beijing‘s chip sector is growing, this decision by the island - not to mention the US, Japan, and South Korea - is doomed to fail. Taiwan will regret going against China on this.

Anti-China narrative

This is a straightforward economic agreement between Taiwan and three other countries - it has no impact on the status quo between China and Taiwan. Beijing shouldn’t be so fast to overreact to things like microchips or US diplomatic visits to Taiwan. The PRC would be best served by focusing on talks to further peace.


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