News analysis

Is Taiwan losing its ‘silicon shield’? TSMC engineers relocate to US, sparking brain drain fears

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's first plant in Phoenix, Arizona is set to begin production in 2024. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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TAIPEI - A “little Taiwan” is forming in a sprawling desert in northern Phoenix in the US state of Arizona.

With the construction of a massive fabrication plant by the island’s top chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in the area, some 500 Taiwanese engineers and their families have relocated there in recent weeks.

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