October 12, 2023
Many issues of global relevance have roots in Taiwan. A look through some recent news items will show several interrelated technology issues — the “chip war”, Chinese disinformation, and cyber attacks — which have consequences that will reverberate through the global economy in years to come.
Chip war
How Taiwan won the semiconductor race - Engelsberg ideas
Here you will find a simple explanation of Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductor chip manufacturing, as well as a peek into the business model that has made it so successful, namely, that Taiwanese companies operate on the contract model which allows them to supply several rival companies with products without competing directly.
Silicon Island (2022) : Throughline : NPR
NPR takes a look at the origin of the Taiwan semiconductor industry, including a glance at the structure of the public-private and transnational investment structure that allowed it to arise.
A fair amount of speculation is going on about the competition over semiconductor technology, including gaming the possible outcomes from geostrategic competition over this technology. This note to investors calls the upcoming Taiwanese election a critical moment in the technological competition between the U.S. and China.
Some background on the situation from an author who has written a book about the “chip war” notes the ramifications to the U.S. auto industry from a chip shortage can be dire (as we experienced during COVID-19) and notes that even with the CHIPS Act bringing chip production to the U.S., Taiwan’s importance in the supply chain will not diminish in the foreseeable future.
How America can win the Chip Wars - UnHerd
The same author notes that the strategic position of the U.S. in this competition is stronger relative to China. The strategy of the U.S. has been to insulate a global supply chain from Chinese interference, whereas the Chinese strategy has been to create homegrown chips to sell domestically. It’s not likely to be a chip “war” that China will win.
Disinformation
China is flooding Taiwan with disinformation
Chinese disinformation including wild conspiracy theories about American involvement in Asia spread not only through social media but through the traditional media in Taiwan as well, although officials largely deny them and specialized NGO’s debunk them.
Taiwan Faces Disinformation Warfare and Learning to Detect Them
Taiwan has developed a small industry of experts that debunk Chinese disinformation campaigns, and are sharing that expertise with other Asian nations that may not have the requisite knowledge to do so. This article also includes a note from someone working for one of these NGO’s about the use of Artificial Intelligence by Chinese disinformation actors.
Constructing “narratives” about Taiwan rather than spreading fake news is the newest tack Chinese propaganda organs are taking. This strategy amplifies issues in Taiwan’s democratic society that are already becoming heated, and are thus harder to debunk than fake news.
In depth analysis at this link notes some examples of narrative reframing used by China, distortions of documents in the deployment of this disinformation, and the troubling nature of the transnational spread of these disinformation campaigns.
Cyber attacks
Taiwan is bracing for Chinese cyberattacks, White House official says - POLITICO
The Biden White House has promised aid to Taiwan over cyber attacks.
Hackers seek election division: officials - Taipei Times
There are two recent examples of cyber attacks by China being used for election interference and cognitive warfare in Taiwan: the first, a disinformation operation originating from a hacked router in a motel in Kaohsiung. The second was a hack on a cloud services company in Hong Kong that was then used to spread disinformation. Investigators noted that Hong Kong was increasingly being detected as a staging point for cyber attacks on Taiwan.
Chinese man wanted for data leak - Taipei Times
Taiwan’s household registration records were recently hacked by a Chinese national and posted online to BreachForums, where a Taiwanese bought them out of curiosity. The hacker is now a wanted person and the Taiwanese purchaser is being charged with breaking local laws. BreachForums’ clearnet domain was seized by a U.S. joint federal operation in June under a warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
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