Ex-TSMC chairman warns of 'pro-China,' 'pro-U.S.' labels in policy debates

Taipei, Sept. 3 (CNA) Former Chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Mark Liu (劉德音) on Tuesday warned against the tendency to label stakeholders as either "pro-China" or "pro-U.S.," calling such rigid thinking a "trap" that could impede policy discussions.

Speaking in front of Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), National Development Council (NDC) head Paul Liu (劉鏡清) and other officials, Liu urged society to be wary of falling into the "trap" of categorizing people involved in discussions on various issues into either the "pro-China" or "pro-U.S." camp.

The former chairman of TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, did not mention specific instances, noting only that this tendency will hinder "imagination" and "curiosity" in discussions.

Liu, who stepped down in June after six years of service as TSMC chairman, cited the United States as an example and said policy discussions had been dominated by either the "pro-Trump" or "anti-Trump" camp often seeking to prioritize its agenda above all else.

Instead, he called for the elimination of binary thinking and for bringing together every stakeholder in society to help "make Taiwan strong."

Liu, an advisor to the Cabinet's recently founded Economic Development Commission, made the comments in his keynote speech at the commission's first advisors' meeting.

He said Taiwan needs to scramble to confront its economic disadvantages, particularly its limited market size.

If a company does not see the entire world as a potential market, it will sooner or later find itself "confined" to the domestic market, Liu noted.

While such a business strategy might still make company executives wealthy, its positive impact on Taiwan's economy might not be long-lasting, he said.

"Taiwan needs to identify opportunities where it can contribute to global market growth," Liu said, noting that Taiwan's next key industry will be determined by whether it has the potential to become a global supplier.

With that in mind, Liu continued, the government must focus its resources on developing and supporting "ecosystems" for industries where Taiwan has a competitive advantage in producing high-value-added goods to help capture the global market.

Liu specifically mentioned the boom in the data center industry, which he described as "a gift suddenly falling from the sky," likely alluding to recent plans by foreign tech giants, including Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Nvidia Corp., to build such centers in Taiwan.

He said Taiwan has to seize the opportunity to develop the "cooling system," the critical part of a data center, noting that having an edge in that realm would make Taiwan indispensable to the global community.

Established in July, the Economic Development Commission under the Executive Yuan has been described by Cho as a task force responsible for formulating policies and addressing various economic issues.

Apart from Liu, the commission includes nearly 60 representatives from enterprises, business associations and academia who serve as advisors.