Lai: It's actually a good thing that Taiwan, especially TSMC, could set up its plans overseas because that shows the expansion of Taiwan's economic strengths. He also believes that that's Taiwan's responsibility to give back to the international community. The other element that Lai brought up was even though the chip making moves to the US, Taiwan has this ecosystem that's been built over decades and the US doesn't have that same ecosystem. So it speaks to, sure, US might get some chips out of this, but they're going to get made and then ship somewhere else for consumer goods.
Taiwan’s current Vice President, Lai Ching-te, leads the polls in the upcoming January presidential election. The winner will have a lot to contend with–and at the top of the list is how to keep the peace with China amid rising tensions. Bloomberg Businessweek editor Joel Weber sat down with Vice President Lai for several wide-ranging interviews in Taiwan.
Joel and Taipei deputy bureau chief Cindy Wang join this episode to talk about the challenges the next president will face in preserving a democratic Taiwan, and public concerns about the possibility of military conflict with China.
Read more: Taiwan’s Election Is All About War
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