Taiwan and US intend to present “democracy chips” together

Taiwan is looking forward to producing “democracy chips” together with the United States, president Tsai Ing-wen told the visiting Governor of the US state of Arizona, Doug Ducey, on Thursday.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), a major supplier to Apple Inc and the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, is building a $ 12 billion factory in Arizona.

“In the face of authoritarian expansionism and the challenges of the post-pandemic era, Taiwan is striving to strengthen cooperation with the United States in the field of semiconductors and other high-tech industries,” Tsai said at the meeting at the presidential office in Taipei.

“This will help build safer and more resilient supply chains. We look forward to jointly producing Democratic chips to safeguard the interests of our democratic partners and create more prosperity.”

Ducey, a Republican, is the latest in a succession of officials from the United States to visit, defying pressure from China not to allow such trips to occur.

He told Tsai that their partnership with Taiwan was “the largest” in the semiconductor industry.

“The legacy of TSMC’s investment has increased the potential of what is possible between Arizona and Taiwan,” Ducey said.

“Arizona is on Taiwan’s side, and we look forward to building on the many opportunities that lie ahead.”

China claims Taiwan as its territory, despite strong objections from the democratically elected government in Taipei, which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.