Economic lens
Technology
2 questions that expose connected mechanisms beneath this part of the world.
All lenses5 min Lever
Why did semiconductors become a national security issue?
Advanced chips and manufacturing tools enable AI, communications and weapons, while production depends on a specialised, concentrated chain. Governments therefore treat access, denial and domestic capacity as security instruments.
5 min LeverWhy does Taiwan matter so much to the world economy?
Taiwan hosts exceptional semiconductor fabrication and advanced-packaging capacity, including much of TSMC's leading-edge investment. Because chips feed products from phones to data centres, disruption would propagate through global production.