Taiwan wants to ensure its partners have reliable supplies of semiconductors, or “democracy chips”, President Tsai Ing-wen told the governor of the U.S. state of Indiana on Monday, saying China’s threats mean fellow democracies have to cooperate.
Governor Eric Holcomb, a Republican, made the third trip to Taiwan this month by a U.S. delegation after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited briefly, infuriating China, which views Taiwan as its own territory.
“Taiwan has been confronted by military threats from China, in and around the Taiwan Strait,” Tsai told Holcomb during a meeting at her office in Taipei.
China staged extensive military exercises near Taiwan after Pelosi’s visit.
Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
“At this moment, democratic allies must stand together and boost cooperation across all areas,” Tsai added, in remarks carried live on her social media pages.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it had lodged “stern representations” with the United States about Holcomb’s trip.
“China always firmly opposes the U.S. conducting official exchanges with Taiwan in any form or under any guise,” it said in a statement.
Holcomb talked of the efforts his state was making in supporting the tech industry, pointing to a June announcement by Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc, the world’s fourth largest chip designer by revenue, of a new design center in Indiana in partnership with Purdue University.
Holcomb said “We look so forward to working with them in designing the future”, he added that Taiwan offered some of the best high-technology talent in the world.
