On October 31, the Chinese Embassy in the United States released through the social media platform "X" high-resolution images of Taiwan taken by the "Jilin-1" satellite, including Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, Taipei City, Hsinchu Science Park and Eluanbi Peninsula, and stated that "from the perspective of Jilin-1, every inch of Taiwan Province is vibrant." In particular, the high-definition photos taken by the satellite of the Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan's semiconductor powerhouse, triggered nervousness among American media and industry analysts.


When Patrick Moorhead, CEO, founder and chief analyst of the American research institution Moor Insights & Strategy forwarded relevant satellite photos, he also emphasized the importance of Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park and said, "Let me make it clear." TSMC's 12A wafer factory, 12B wafer factory and high-end back-end wafer fab are all in the Hsinchu Science Park.


Patrick Moorhead also listed the famous manufacturers that cooperate with TSMC: "(Hsinchu Science Park) also has TSMC's headquarters and global R&D center, which develops all the world's advanced wafer foundry intellectual property and is used to build chips for companies such as Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Apple and Qualcomm, as well as some recent products of Intel."

American technology media Tom's Hardware pointed out that although this tweet did not directly mention the chip, there is no need to explain it. The Hsinchu Science Park is home to TSMC’s original wafer fab, MediaTek and UMC headquarters, and is home to key government agencies responsible for Taiwan’s aerospace and chip strategy.

No other location on earth has as many cutting-edge logic process nodes as Hsinchu. This is the birthplace of AI graphics processing units (GPUs) for training artificial intelligence models, where desktop and server central processing units (CPUs) are etched into shape, and where the most advanced silicon chip intellectual property (Silicon IP) is designed.

In addition, according to a recent special report by Reuters, U.S. officials have begun simulating the worst-case scenario that the Bashi Channel, an important export channel for Taiwan's advanced wafers and electronic products, may face.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also stated in September this year that the single most serious potential risk point for the global economy is that 99% of high-performance chips are produced in Taiwan. As early as 2021, the White House assessment report warned that even a temporary decline in TSMC's production may affect various fields from data centers to national defense.

Tom's Hardware also pointed out, "The Chinese Embassy does not need to mention these situations directly. Under the current tense situation, a photo of the Hsinchu Science Park is enough (to convey the message)."