The critical threshold today lies in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. For 3-nanometer nodes and below, EUV is virtually indispensable. However, due to export controls, SMIC—China’s leading foundry—cannot access EUV systems and must rely instead on deep ultraviolet (DUV) immersion lithography.

The seminar concluded with a renewed appeal from participants to treat the proposed defense spending budget as a non-partisan security imperative before the mid-March deadline.

“Uncertainty itself has become a new kind of tariff”. The cost of preparing for potential changes often exceeds the actual tariff percentage. Therefore, companies must view this as a “normalized environment of uncertainty” and design resilient frameworks from a risk management perspective.

Strategically, Singapore has chosen a pragmatic and clear-eyed path. The Prime Minister acknowledged that Singapore lacks the scale to compete with major powers such as the United States and China in developing foundational AI models. Instead, its comparative advantage lies in deploying AI “effectively, responsibly, and swiftly.” This declaration signals that Singapore has no intention of entering an arms race in model development. Rather, it aims to position itself as a global hub and testing ground for AI solutions. Instead of pursuing scale for its own sake, the country seeks to excel in application efficiency and systems integration.

By Dr. TUNG Chen-Yuan, Taiwan’s Representative to Singapore – AI image for illustrative purposes only. In Singapore, health is no longer merely a…

Singapore’s Online Criminal Harms Act empowers the government to issue legally binding directives to major online platforms, requiring them to remove accounts, block content, or even restrict applications. As digital platforms have become primary arenas for criminal activity, platform operators are now expected to assume gatekeeping responsibilities rather than claim technological neutrality.

Traditional predictions say the Fire Horse year favors entrepreneurship, bold political shifts, and technological leaps, while warning against impulsive decisions, burnout, and unnecessary conflict.

Taiwan’s investment in non-China destinations has continued to rise. In 2016, investment in non-China regions surpassed investment in China for the first time, marking a key turning point. By 2022, the share had further increased to 66.4%. In 2025, investment in non-China regions accounted for as much as 96.2% of Taiwan’s total outward investment—around 12 times the level invested in China—demonstrating a highly diversified and multi-pronged outward investment pattern.

Taiwan became Singapore’s largest merchandise trading partner in 2025, surpassing China and Malaysia. Notably, just one year earlier in 2024, Taiwan ranked only fourth. This sharp rise does not reflect a short-term anomaly, but rather the combined outcome of supply chain realignments and structural changes in trade patterns.

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…