Apple chip supplier TSMC is being dragged into a political feud, here's how

As Taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections approach, the chipmaker TSMC finds itself caught in the political crossfire. The opposition candidate claims that tensions with China have made Taiwan a risky place for investment, pointing to TSMC's plans to expand overseas. However, TSMC and the Taiwanese government emphasise that the majority of manufacturing will remain on the island.

As Taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections approach, the chipmaker TSMC finds itself caught in the political crossfire. The opposition candidate claims that tensions with China have made Taiwan a risky place for investment, pointing to TSMC's plans to expand overseas. However, TSMC and the Taiwanese government emphasise that the majority of manufacturing will remain on the island.

Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections are due on January 13. Now, the chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing company ( TSMC ), that manufactures chips for tech majors like Apple and more, is being dragged into the election campaigning fray. China claims Taiwan as its territory and has stepped up military pressure to assert those claims.

This includes staging war games near the island. Now, the region’s vice presidential candidates have been arguing over the company's overseas investments. The opposition candidate has alleged that the tensions with China has made Taiwan a dangerous place to invest. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, the campaign trail often mentioned the world's largest contract chipmaker as the island's most important company.

However, the campaign more frequently discussed issues that affect the sector including stability of the power grid and water shortages. What Taiwan’s presidential candidates has to say about TSMC At a live televised debate, Jaw Shaw kong, the vice presidential candidate for Taiwan's largest opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT), said before entering the presidential race he met with US investors who asked if there was going to be war.

Shaw kong blamed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for tensions with China and said: “If Taiwan does not have a peaceful environment, nobody will dare invest. Our TSMC wants to run off overseas. Taiwan plus one one factory in Taiwan, one overseas, hollowing out our Taiwan.” TSMC is already building factories in Japan and the US state of Arizona.

The chipmaker is also planning another plant in Germany. However, both the company and the Taiwanese government have repeatedly noted that the bulk of manufacturing, which includes the making of the most advanced chips, will be kept on the island. While replying to Shaw kong, the DPP's vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi khim, who was also Taiwan's high profile de facto ambassador to the US, said that foreign investment has reached record highs under the DPP administration.

Bi khim said: “TSMC is the pride of Taiwan and should not be used for political competition or consumption. It is our sacred mountain protecting the country. We hope all Taiwanese businesses will have everyone's blessing in the process of the global layout.” She also added that TSMC makes decisions on their global footprint based on industry and customer needs.

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