Taiwan is the production hub for the majority of the world’s semiconductors. This paper investigates the role of Taiwan’s semiconductors in today’s computing and global technology development. It then examines the potential risks to economies, security and geopolitics of the world in the event of any failure or disruptions in Taiwan’s semiconductor supply. We will further develop the metaphor of Taiwan’s semiconductor being the “binding chain” that supports the global high-tech value chain, analyse the structural vulnerabilities in the chain, and propose possible solutions to enhance the strength of the chain, to safeguard the global high-tech value chain and ensure the security of high-tech industries.

The country that leads the world in semiconductor manufacturing is Taiwan. The design and IP are made in America, Europe and elsewhere, but the actual production of the leading-edge 3nm and 5nm semiconductors is carried out almost exclusively in Taiwan-by-Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The finished chips are then tested, packaged and assembled into components and end-products such as mobile phones, servers, self-driving cars, medical devices, defence and security products, etc. The chips made in Taiwan are critical to holding together the complex global supply chain of materials that is required to produce the end-products for all these products. Remove the glue that holds the supply chain together, and the whole system collapses, with all economies being at risk.

The global semiconductor supply chain is a very........

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