Is US Stealing TSMC Chip Technologies From Taiwan?!

Is the US stealing advanced TSMC chip technologies from Taiwan, in the biggest international heist ever?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : US Is Stealing TSMC Chip Technologies From Taiwan!

This message has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media, claiming that two US professors have declared that the US is stealing Taiwan’s most advanced TSMC chip technologies!

It’s very long, so please feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Professor Ling-Chi Wang of UC Berkeley: I think the only way to describe what is happening to TSMC 台積电 in Hsinchu, Taiwan is to call it the biggest international heist, in broad daylight, of Taiwan’s biggest and most valuable manufacturing facility and intellectual property theft, estimated to be worth 4% of Taiwan’s GNP, considered by the people of Taiwan to be their 护国神山, ever undertaken in human history by the U.S. government.

The people of Taiwan are stunned by the magnitude and speed of the heist and the massive airlifting of the manufacturing facility, its most advance know-hows, and top scientists and engineers and their families to Phoenix, Arizona, commencing in December. The U.S. is paying billions to relocate and transport the company to the U.S.

The scale of intellectual robbery is unmatched by other large-scale international robberies I know of. The U.S. justified the robbery by declaring it a matter of “national security” of the U.S., based on the assumption that China will sooner or later seize Taiwan, thus depriving the U.S. and the world of its indispensable products.

What is even more stunning and insulting to the people of Taiwan is the conspicuous absence of any meaningful protest by the Taiwan government of Tsai Ing-wen. In fact, the government is aid and abetting the robbery.

Professor John V Walsh, MD, in San Francisco: First the US frightens them with threats of war and turning Taiwan into a porcupine bristling with American weapons. No one wants to live in Ukraine 2.0.

Then the US offers an “escape hatch” to Arizona where these Taiwanese may find the US anti-China rhetoric a bit much to stomach – and no distinctions made between Taiwanese and Chinese by street toughs.

Disgusting.

加州大學伯克利分校王靈智教授：我認為描述台積電在台灣新竹發生的事情的唯一方式是稱其為在光天化日之下對台灣最大和最有價值的製造設施的最大國際搶劫和竊取知識產權，估計價值達台灣國民生產總值的4%，被台灣人民視為護國神山，人類歷史上從未有過美國政府所為。台灣人民對搶劫的規模和速度以及從 12 月開始向亞利桑那州鳳凰城空運製造設施、最先進的技術訣竅以及頂尖科學家和工程師及其家人感到震驚。美國斥資數十億將公司搬遷運回美國，智力劫案的規模是我所知道的其他大型國際劫案所無法比擬的。美國以中國遲早會奪取台灣為由，宣稱這是美國的“國家安全”問題，以此為搶劫辯護，從而剝奪美國和世界不可或缺的產品。更令台灣人民震驚和侮辱的是，蔡英文政府明顯沒有任何有意義的抗議。事實上，政府正在協助和教唆搶劫。

舊金山醫學博士 John V Walsh 教授：首先，美國以戰爭威脅嚇唬他們，並把台灣變成一頭佈滿美國武器的豪豬。沒有人願意生活在烏克蘭 2.0。

然後，美國向亞利桑那州提供了一個“逃生艙口”，這些台灣人可能會覺得美國的反華言論有點難以接受——街頭惡棍也沒有對台灣人和中國人進行區分。

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Truth : US Is NOT Stealing TSMC Chip Technologies From Taiwan!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and shared by pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : No Evidence Professor Ling-Chin Wang Wrote It

First, let’s establish some basic facts about Professor Ling-Chi Wang. He is an ethnologist (not technologist), which means he studies and teaches about cultures and societies, not chips or technology.

He is also a Professor Emeritus of Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies at UC Berkeley, which means he is retired.

There is no evidence that Professor Ling Chin-Wang wrote any part of the viral message. He is not on Facebook, and he has not posted anything on his official LinkedIn page either.

The earliest and most complete example of this viral message appears to be written by a Chinese writer called Yu Ligong, who posted it on Facebook on 24 November 2022.

Fact #2 : No Evidence Professor John V. Walsh Wrote It

John V. Walsh was a professor of physiology and neuroscience at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. He has since retired.

He writes on issues of peace and healthcare, but there is no evidence he actually wrote that small section about turning Taiwan into a porcupine of American weapons, or Ukraine 2.0.

Again, the earliest example appears to be the Facebook post by the Chinese writer, Yu Ligong.

Fact #3 : TSMC Is Not Shifting Their Existing Fabs To US

The viral post falsely claims that the US government paid billions to relocate TSMC to the United States, airlifting its manufacturing facility to Arizona.

That’s not true – TSMC will still remain in Taiwan, where most of its fabs are located. The new Arizona fab will merely be another one of its many fabs. That’s why it’s known as Fab 21.

It is also impossible to “airlift” a semiconductor fabrication plant. Have you seen how massive it is?

Fact #4 : TSMC Owns Arizona Fab 21

The viral post falsely claims that the US government is robbing Taiwan of its prized intellectual property – TSMC’s most advanced chip technologies.

That’s patently false, because TSMC isn’t building a semiconductor plant for the US government. TSMC is building a new fab in Arizona, which it will fully own.

The TSMC Arizona plant, when fully completed, will be one of the most advanced semiconductor fabs in the world, producing both 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips.

Fact #5 : TSMC Owns Its Intellectual Property

Regardless of where it builds its wafer fabs, TSMC continues to own its intellectual property, except possibly in China.

This was pointed out by Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in his June 2022 op-ed arguing for more subsidies for American chipmakers.

… foreign chipmakers vying for U.S. subsidies will keep their valuable intellectual property on their own shores, ensuring that the most lucrative and cutting-edge manufacturing stays there and requiring the U.S. to make the difficult choice between forgoing the advanced chips necessary for critical national security applications or relying on insecure, foreign supply chains for them.

Unlike China, the United States does not demand technology transfers to gain access to its massive market. So no, the US does not gain TSMC’s intellectual properties just because it subsidises Fab 21 in Arizona.

It may be different in China, where the CCP government is notorious for insisting on technology transfers.

Fact #6 : TSMC Arizona Is Second US Fab

TSMC Arizona isn’t even the first semiconductor plant the Taiwanese company built in the United States.

Back in 1995, TSMC started work on a $1.2 billion semiconductor plant called Fab 11 at Camas, Washington, which produces 8-inch wafers.

Fact #7 : TSMC Has Two Fabs In China!

If the writer believes that building a fab overseas means that the foreign country owns TSMC’s intellectual property, then it would mean that China “stole” TSMC’s intellectual property as well.

That’s because TSMC has not one, but TWO wafer fabs in China!

Fab 10 in Shanghai, which produces 200 mm wafers
Fab 16 in Nanjing, which produces 300 mm wafers

In April 2021, TSMC announced that it would expand capacity at their Nanjing fab, which it would also upgrade to produce smaller 16 nm chips.

Recommended : Apple Freezes Use Of China’s YMTC NAND Chips!

Fact #8 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

This is just another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

All of the wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far have proven to be false… at every instance. So please watch out for such false claims.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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