A military conflict over Taiwan could disrupt the supply of microchips — used in items such as smartphones — and set the global economy back decades, one of the island's leading producers says.
If the industry were to be disrupted by military conflict, the impact on the global economy would be “huge,” said Miin Wu, the founder and chief executive of the Taiwanese chipmaker Macronix.
These technological wonders consist of tiny patterns, measured in nanometers, that are etched onto thin slices of silicon called “wafers.” “I thought the only thing I want to do is I want to develop technology based on the U.S. standard and then move up,” Wu said. Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has been described as a “silicon shield” that gives the U.S. and other supporters added incentive to promote the island’s security in the face of growing threats from China.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, right, with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., in April.Any instability in the Taiwan Strait “resulting from escalation, accident or use of force would have major economic and security implications for the region and globally,” according to a State Department readout of a call last week between Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland and her European Union counterpart, Stefano Sannino.
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