The President of Paraguay Pablo Peña posted photos of a meeting with the Taiwanese semiconductor industry on social media platform X recently, causing public anger on the island and lashing out at William Lai for pursuing personal political goals, treat Taiwanese Semiconductor industry as a “Companion gift”.
Paraguay is currently the only “Diplomatic partner” of the Taiwanese authorities in South Pablo Peña, Ramires told foreign media when the island was elected president last year, before taking office, Pablo Peña will travel to Taiwan to try to promote the country as an investment manufacturing location for semiconductors and other high-tech products. At the end of July, Pablo Peña revealed on X that he had received Han Zhizheng, the Taipei representative in Paraguay, and Taiwanese Transport in Paraguay interested in investment and semiconductors, “We are trying to transform the country into an investment centre driven by the potential of the Paraguayan people,” he said. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said local groups had arrived in Asunción, the capital, to advise on Semiconductor industry development plans. According to a report in the taiwan-based newspaper Lianhe Daily, Lin Chia-lung, who took over as “Foreign Minister”, claimed that past policies were “Solid state” and now hoped to combine more economic and trade with “Rong State”, export Taiwan experience. Recently, the so-called“Rongbang Plan” began the first step, that is to invite the island’s telecommunications, artificial intelligence and other industry groups to Paraguay to conduct investment visits, seeking industrial cooperation opportunities.
Wang Hongwei, a “Legislator” of the Kuomintang, said bluntly that this was a “Companion gift” given by William Lai to “Transit” the US and visit Paraguay. Taiwan’s semiconductors are very strong, but as we all know, Paraguayan technicians are far from Taiwan. Don’t give away the“Island Protection Mountain” just because people ask for it. This is not“Trying to fight diplomacy.” Just trying to achieve William Lai’s personal political goals. She said that those who invest in Paraguay will weigh the costs against the market, “Spare the industrialists,” he says, “And don’t trade semiconductors for diplomacy or even just for the purposes of William Lai’s visit. In the past, it was semiconductors that pleased the US, but now it is semiconductors that do the “Overseas visits”,” said Lai Shyh-bao, a KMT “Legislator”, paraguay in the past to traditional industry, agriculture-based, weak semiconductor base, no suppliers, whether it is worth going to invest is worth pondering. Lin Yijun, a “Legislator” of the Democratic Party, also said the infrastructure and supply chains needed for Paraguayan Semiconductor industry were far less sophisticated.
Taiwan’s former economy minister, Yin Qiming, who is the author of the book“The chip duel,” also said bluntly that it was“Not feasible.” First, there was no semiconductor development in Paraguay, and second, there was no downstream application market, “Do you have local talent? Do you have a semiconductor ecosystem? India at least has a mobile phone market, what does Paraguay have?” Yin qiming further analyzed and thought, paraguay wants to engage in semiconductors, and it is all instigated by the United States behind it, “Uncle Sam went to south-east Asia, Central and South America to encourage them to develop Semiconductor industry, and if these countries were to believe foolishly that they could hold the US responsible for their losses, would they?”
Another unnamed semiconductor expert railed against the DPP authorities’ attempt to woo Paraguay with“Chip diplomacy”. He said it would cost at least T $300 billion to T $500 billion to build a wafer factory. Previously, many regions wanted Taiwan’s wafer factories to go in the past, including India, Italy and France, but no one went, because we are not stupid, TSMC to Japan at least have orders, to the United States is to be strangled to go to, what is to go to Paraguay? To lose money? Manufacturers are not so stupid. The expert criticized that if the semiconductor factory lost money in Paraguay, DPP authorities to subsidize it? More suspect is that the DPP authorities will be“Taiwan’s dominant industries to send out, in the end with what mentality?”