Nadene Goldfoot
"One hundred miles off the coast of China is the largest and most sophisticated microchip maker in the world – Taiwan. These chips power the world's cars, phones, and computers. "Taiwan is an island province belonging to China in the East China Sea. There is much controversy around the question of whether Taiwan—an island in East Asia that is about the size of Maryland and Delaware combined—is an independent country. The current population of Taiwan is 23,857,718 as of Monday, June 14, 2021, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data."
"China consumes more than half of them and wants more as its economy grows and is increasingly casting an eye to their island neighbor to the east to get them – some worry by military force one day. "Whoever controls the design and production of these microchips, they'll set the course for the 21st century," said Martijn Rasser, a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Center for a New American Security. "By gaining control over Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, China would control the global market," Rasser said. "They would have access to the most advanced manufacturing capabilities and that is even more valuable than controlling the world's oil."
We have come to the point of manufacturing everything by using chips. Without these chips, nothing would work. The problem is that our country has been using these computer chips that are mostly manufactured in the faraway county of Taiwan, and China is not our best friend. The fact Israel has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan (Republic of China), which recognizes Israel, but does not officially conduct relations due to Israel’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China, is likely the main reason behind the sluggish economic trade.
There is a computer chip manufacturer just a few blocks from my home in Gresham, Oregon, called Microchip Technology Inc, .but evidently they can't make enough. This business specializes in Electronics Retailers. Microchip Technology Inc. is a publicly-listed American corporation that manufactures microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP integrated circuits. Its corporate headquarters is located in Chandler, Arizona. Its wafer fabs are located in Tempe, Arizona, Gresham, Oregon, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its assembly/test facilities are in Chachoengsao, Thailand, and Calamba and Cabuyao, Philippines. Sales for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2019 were $5.35 billion.
Top Semi Conductor companies in the world are: Intel, based in Santa Clara, CA, supplies computer processors, graphics processing units, FPGAs, chipsets, programmable and networking devices, memory, server products, wireless components, and full systems and devices. It has continually been one of the largest semiconductor companies worldwide since 2012.
Samsung has its U.S. headquarters in Houston, TX. The company supplies DRAM, SSD, e-storage, multi-chip packages, processors, image sensors, integrated circuits, and security products through its semiconductor division.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the world’s largest semiconductor foundry. The company specializes in integrated circuits, serving the computer, communications, consumer, and industrial sectors. It owns a U.S. subsidiary called WaferTech, through which its products can be purchased.
We are almost completely dependent on Taiwan. It officially is part of the Republic of China according to China.
" The Republic of China (ROC), which had overthrown the Qing in 1911, took control of Taiwan on behalf of the World War II Allies following the surrender of Japan in 1945. The resumption of the Chinese Civil War resulted in the ROC's loss of mainland China to forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and retreat to Taiwan in 1949. Its effective jurisdiction has since been limited to Taiwan and numerous smaller islands."
I didn't realize it but historians will look back and call our age the Microchip Age. Our lives are dependent on something very small called the microchip. "A microchip (sometimes just called a "chip") is a unit of packaged computer circuitry (usually called an integrated circuit) that is manufactured from a material such as silicon at a very small scale. Microchips are made for program logic (logic or microprocessor chips) and for computer memory (memory or RAM chips). Microchips are also made that include both logic and memory and for special purposes such as analog-to-digital conversion, bit slicing, and gateways."
Another definition is that "a microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of an animal. The chip, about the size of a large grain of rice, uses passive radio-frequency identification technology, and is also known as a PIT tag. Standard pet microchips are typically 11–13 mm long and 2 mm in diameter."
Taiwan, officially a “rogue province” of China, but in reality operating as an independent nation of 23 million people, ranked 22nd as a world economy (right behind Switzerland), is now a leading global player in the production of semiconductor chips.
As such, it has emerged as the key supply link to a multiplicity of American and Chinese high-tech companies at a time when the Trump administration was working hard to cut China’s access to Taiwan’s semiconductors.
"A semiconductor is a physical substance designed to manage and control the flow of current in electronic devices and equipment. It either doesn’t allow a freely flowing electric current or repels the current completely.
A semiconductor sits between a conductor and an insulator and is commonly used in the development of electronic chips, computing components, and devices. It’s generally created using silicon, germanium, or other pure elements.
Semiconductors are created by adding impurities to the element. The conductance or inductance of the element depends on the type and intensity of the added impurities.
Conventional devices and components built by using a semiconductor include, computer memory, integrated circuits, diodes, and transistors."
Automobiles would use them. So would all our computers. Anything that is computerized would need them. Now there is a shortage of them, and you can blame COVID 19 for much of the shortage. " A global chip shortage is starting to have major world-wide consequences. The demand for chips is continuing to outstrip supply, and car makers are no longer the only companies feeling the pinch. Many companies — particularly those in China who have been hit by sanctions — are boosting their stockpiles of in-demand chips to try to ride out the storm, but that’s making chips even harder to get hold of for other firms." "The world is in the grips of a global chip shortage because of demand for semiconductors surging far beyond capacity for supply. The shortage is crippling players in industries as diverse and far afield as automotives and smartphones—though carmakers have it the worst."
"Because the state of Israel has full diplomatic relations with mainland China, it cannot fully recognize the government of Taiwan, which China considers separatist. Nevertheless, Israel maintains the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO). In 2006, there was $1.3 billion worth of bilateral trade between Israel and Taiwan.In 2002 a Holocaust Museum was opened in Bao'an, Rende Township, Tainan County (now part of Tainan City). It was founded by Chou Chou , a Taiwanese priest who follows Messianic Judaism, considered by many Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity. Chou Chou An received his religious education in Japan. The Kyoto Holocaust Museum has donated several artefacts to the Holocaust Museum in Tainan. In 2021 an International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in Taipei was attended by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. The event was organized by the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, the German Institute Taipei, and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy."
"Despite its small size, the Taiwan Jewish community has remained vibrant for some five decades, ensuring the continuation of Jewish life in this important corner of East Asia. The Jewish community of Taiwan dates back to the 1950s, when Jewish servicemen in the American military were first stationed there. As Taiwan’s industrial and trading capacity grew, Jewish businessmen from the , , and , joined Taiwan’s Jewish community. During that period of rapid economic growth, and holiday services were held regularly in the U.S. military chapel (open to civilians as well as military personnel), ordinarily officiated over by lay leaders. The nearest was the U.S. military chaplain based in the Philippines, who would visit Taiwan several times a year."
"In the summer of 2011, upon the coming of the new Chabad emissaries, Rabbi Shlomi and Racheli Tabib, the Chabad Taiwan, also known as the Taipei Jewish Center, was founded As of 2016 the Jewish community in Taiwan numbered approximately 800, with 650 of those residing in Taipei. In 1975, Rabbi Ephraim Einhorn arrived to serve as the island's sole rabbi. Since then, the Taiwan Jewish Community has been largely made up of foreign business executives and their families, students, diplomats assigned to Taiwan, and visitors to the island. For many years Rabbi Einhorn officiated at Sabbath and holiday services at the Landis Hotel and later the Sheraton Taipei. In 2015 the venue for the services moved to space in an office building provided by one of the community members. In 2020 the Taiwan Jewish Community moved to a location funded by the entire community. Attendance peaks around the High Holy Days, numbering between 60 and 100."
Updated: 1:30am 6/15/21
Resource:
https://www.thoughtco.com/is-taiwan-a-country-1435437
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Taiwan
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/microchip
https://www.iqsdirectory.com/resources/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-semiconductors/
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/taiwan-virtual-jewish-history-tour
https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/top-suppliers/semiconductor-suppliers-manufacturers/
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/chip-shortage-is-starting-to-have-major-real-world-consequences.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/business/chip-shortages-smartphones-consumer-goods/index.html
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