I have been writing about Taiwan and the geopolitical whirlwind around it since a few years as a journalist but this is my first time in Taiwan. I have interviewed few amazing Taiwanese people and have met others at the New Delhi mission but this is the first time I’m living with them and observing them as a society in their own land. And I must say they are a diligent race with a great aptitude for engineering! This is my first impression at least! The world knows Taiwan more because of its semiconductors. My Taiwanese sources have told me that the semiconductor technology is a part of their national security strategy.
In 2022, I interviewed TAITRA’s Chairperson, James Huang and asked him about Taiwan’s path to its present economic stature. James patiently told me about how it started from each home from small units to become some of the best corporations in the world. He told me about how India needs to take its own “untrodden path”.
Here in Taiwan, I was particularly struck by how fewer people exist in this country compared to India! How you see empty lands and paddy fields when you take high-speed trains from one city to another. There’s a neat blend of modern with old; of technology and innovation with ordinary life. At times I have felt like being in a New York suburb—other times Taiwanese cities have reminded me of the skylines of US cities. There are 7-Eleven Stores in almost every street of Taiwan like they exist in Manhattan!
Imagine there are 13000 7-Eleven retail stores in the US while there are 6712 of them in the much smaller Taiwan! There’s certainly some mathematics about the Taiwanese idea of its resilient economy
Just today as it rained in the morning I rushed to 7-Eleven for my copy of the Taipie Times as well as an umbrella. In office amazed by Taiwan's 7-Eleven phenomenon, I searched about them online and found an article in the Los Angles Times titled, “Why are Taiwan's 7-Eleven so much better than our?”
The article said there is one convenience store for every 1,582 Taiwanese people–the highest per capita anywhere else in the world. And for sure they aren't thriving on the cheap Chinese produce.
Taiwan’s Character
During a meeting with a Taiwanese friend in New Delhi, I was presented a coffee mug with a Formosan black bear on it. My friend asked, “Do you know what this means?” The accomplice pointed at the bear and proudly explained how the Taiwanese national animal stands for its character. Meaning taken, I cherished having a Taiwanese mug but was taken aback by how the mug was specifically designed for the imported filter coffee sachets.
There’s something about science, technology, innovation and design inside a Taiwanese mind. The city skyline that appears very American isn’t just an imitation of American architecture but is actually a successful implementation of regulatory laws for urban infrastructural development. Ask any developing, democratic country how difficult it’s to implement such regulatory laws and you will find it easier to appreciate the regulated urban infrastructural development of Taiwanese cities. In fact, it should be credited to the country’s architects and to its universities for teaching them both a science and its ethics!
While on my way to the immigration office, I was impressed by the parking system of the city. There were allotted parking slots for different categories including for people with disabilities. The parking system reminded me of what I read on a board inside the Taoyuan international airport—it described human rights not as an end in itself but as a process.
You can call the Taiwanese adherence to democracy, science and regulatory laws very American or European but it’s actually Taiwanese. It’s their diligent work at creating their own modern identity—driven by a genuine quest for a democratic polity as well as an aspiration for modern standards of living. That’s why the Taiwanese are neither American nor Chinese! They are just Taiwanese!
How to explain Taiwan to Indians?
Indian students of international affairs know where Taiwan is but to ordinary Indians, Taiwan’s whereabouts are still hazy! Before leaving for Taiwan I had used various analogies to explain its location–“It’s nearby Japan”; “It’s an island under China just like Sri Lanka is under India”.
Indians fast taking to all modern gadgetry know all Chinese smartphone brands but don’t know that most of the chips going inside the smart technology fast taking over their lives is Taiwanese.
There’s a lot of excitement about the Taiwanese semiconductor investment in India but there’s so much frustration about the semiconductor ecosystem in India. None of these emotions is near to reality. Just before leaving for Taiwan, a highly placed source told me how India isn’t as novice as it’s portrayed in the areas of semiconductors. It has an old fab run by Semi-Conductors India Ltd (SCIL) which produces thicker chips of 28 micron.
Its production line is idle because it makes chips only for Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) and not for private companies. However, it has the capacity to produce 3 million chips every year. If put into operations it could reduce something from the $60 billion India spends every year on importing semiconductors.
Another source shared that in the recent Trump-Modi meeting at Washington, AI and semiconductor collaboration with Taiwan was discussed but is yet to be officially taken up. So, things are happening behind the scenes at their own pace. India is on an “untrodden path” and so are the India-Taiwan bilateral ties! We both are aspirational societies in our own ways and we both have lots to learn from each other!
Venus Upadhayaya is a MOFA Taiwan 2025 Fellow from India. Media and Journalism, Global South Geopolitics and Sustainability and Leadership are her areas of interest.