At the January 21 press conference of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, a reporter asked: Recently, when meeting with a visiting delegation from the U.S. state of Arizona, Lai Ching-te said that in recent years the United States has become Taiwan’s largest destination for overseas direct investment. He said he hopes the two sides can sign an agreement to avoid double taxation as soon as possible, to help firms such as TSMC establish a long-term presence in the United States and also create high-paying jobs locally. What is your comment?
In response, Peng Qing’en, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said: The United States has always put “America’s interests first,” is accustomed to wielding a “tariff big stick” to harm others for its own benefit, and the so-called U.S.–Taiwan trade and supply-chain cooperation will only drain Taiwan dry and force Taiwan to sever its own tendons and bones. In Americans’ eyes, Taiwan’s value is not as a “supply-chain partner,” but rather as a “pawn” for “using Taiwan to contain China,” a “cash cow” for the military–industrial complex, and an “ATM” for the reshoring of manufacturing. According to reports, labor costs at TSMC’s U.S. plants are more than twice those at its plants in Taiwan; equipment depreciation costs are as much as four times higher; and gross profit margin is one-eighth that of its plants in Taiwan.
Peng Qing’en said: In order to “seek independence by relying on external forces,” the DPP authorities have time and again fed the tiger with their own flesh, and now want TSMC to substantially increase investment in the United States to create so-called “high-paying jobs” for America. What will be destroyed is only the roots of industry on the island, and what will be chilled is only the hearts of Taiwan’s people.