By Dr. TUNG Chen-Yuan, Taiwan’s Representative to Singapore
The e-book is now available for free download, and the print edition can be ordered via the publisher’s website
At the intersection of contemporary international politics and the global economy, semiconductors have long transcended the realm of industrial policy. They have become a core strategic asset shaping national security, technological competition, and supply-chain resilience.
It is against this backdrop that Ambassador Tung Chen-Yuan, Taiwan’s Representative to Singapore, will publish a new book this month titled Taiwan at the Core – A Strategic Partner in the Global Semiconductor Landscape and Supply Chain Realignment. The book elucidates Taiwan’s critical role within the global system.
From artificial intelligence and advanced computing to electric vehicles, communications equipment, and defense systems, chips have become the foundational infrastructure of all major strategic industries. Whoever can reliably command the semiconductor supply chain holds a decisive lever over future technological development and the global economic order. Taiwan currently accounts for more than 78% of the global foundry market—an achievement that goes far beyond industrial success and signifies Taiwan’s emergence as an indispensable pillar of the global digital economy.
Adopting a policy-oriented and global perspective, the book offers an in-depth analysis of the “semiconductor strategic realignment” now being pursued simultaneously—but in divergent ways—by major economies. It examines Taiwan’s central position in the global semiconductor ecosystem; how the United States, Japan, and Europe are reshaping their technological competitiveness through industrial revitalization policies and supply-chain security initiatives; how China, constrained in advanced manufacturing nodes, is accelerating the expansion of mature-process technologies; and how South Korea, driven by AI demand, has demonstrated critical strengths in high-bandwidth memory (HBM). The book also gives special attention to emerging economies such as Singapore and India, exploring how they are gradually assuming more strategically significant roles within regional specialization and global supply chains.
Through these comparisons and analyses, readers gain a more comprehensive understanding of the structural transformation of the global semiconductor supply chain, the forces driving its realignment, and the intertwined geopolitical and economic implications of technological competition over the coming decade.
Importantly, Taiwan at the Core goes beyond industry analysis to clearly position Taiwan as an indispensable strategic partner for governments and enterprises worldwide. With a complete AI and semiconductor ecosystem, a world-class talent base, and a robust and trustworthy intellectual property protection regime, Taiwan offers not merely manufacturing capacity but a highly reliable environment for advanced research and development and regional operations.
The book advances a central thesis: as the “Angstrom Era” approaches, global supply-chain resilience and shared prosperity have become inseparable from peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. This reality elevates Taiwan beyond a technological leader to a cornerstone of the future global order—one that cannot be ignored.
Continuing the practice of the author’s previous works, all royalty proceeds from this book will once again be donated in full to purchase copies for friends and partners across Singapore. Through this effort, the author hopes to encourage policymakers, industry leaders, and scholars alike to better understand—through a more macro-level lens—Taiwan’s pivotal role in the global system and the ways in which semiconductors are shaping our shared future.
About the Author:
Dr. Tung Chen-Yuan is currently Taiwan’s Representative to Singapore. He was Minister of the Overseas Community Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from June 2020 till January 2023. He was Taiwan’s ambassador to Thailand from July 2017 until May 2020, senior advisor at the National Security Council from October 2016 until July 2017, and Spokesman of the Executive Yuan from May to September 2016. Before taking office, Dr Tung was a distinguished professor at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, National Chengchi University (Taiwan). He received his Ph.D. degree in international affairs from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. From September 2006 to May 2008, he was vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan. His areas of expertise include international political economy, China’s economic development, and prediction markets.
