On a journey of discovery

Being a small island nation like Taiwan should make it feel insecure, especially with a big power that has a vested interest in your affairs breathing over your shoulder.

But whether or not that threat exists, Taipei has something important to boast about to the world – its wide and diverse digital technology that the whole world needs.

Alessandro Sossa, project manager and corporate communications chief at Delta Electronics, summed it up so well when he said: “Most probably the chips or parts in your gadget come from Taiwan.”

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He was correct as Taiwan manufactures and supplies almost every chip, part, equipment of an electronic nature for vehicles, cellphones, computers, household goods, business machines, medical technology and even defence from its diverse digital technology sector.

Sossa is confident about Delta’s role in international electronic ingenuity when it comes to electronic equipment manufacturing that has put Taiwan on the world map as one of the leading world’s digital tech mecca.

The country lives and breathes technology, with the semiconductors providing it with a bargaining tool in international markets.

As a group of 13 journalists from SA, South Korea, Indonesia, Armenia, Vietnam, Australia, Malaysia, Eswatini, Spain, Belize, Mongolia and Switzerland, we were invited on a weeklong visit to Taiwan.

Our tour included the industrial area in Taichung, where all these electronic firms are situated, including TSMC, the manufacturer of the famous semiconductors.

This was a journey of discovery, not only about the country’s supply chain industrial sector, but also its politics and its cultural diversity.

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It was a keen and curious group that frequently asked every little question about Taiwan’s secret of successes with its digital technology and where did it start.

We got more than we bargained for from various industry experts, who included the knowledgeable Scott Huang, associate researcher at the Hsinchu Science Park. We even had the opportunity to ask questions from the late founder, Morris Chang via his recorded life-story.

It’s at the science park museum that we go to the know-how behind mainland China’s electric car engine that came from Taiwan, where it was prototyped.

It as amazing how everybody from industrial experts to politicians such as Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Lin Chia-lung, his deputy Dr Tien Chung-kwang and their vice-ministers and senior state officials were so passionate about the country’s digital products and their contribution to the Taiwan’s economy and employment.

There, you cannot differentiate among Cabinet ministers for they speak with similar passion about Taiwanese trade and investments and economic growth.

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You get the impression that nobody works in silos but everybody shares the same goal to grow Taiwan’s economy.

The determination of President Lai Ching-te to turn Taiwan into an artificial intelligence island is well supported by his Cabinet ministers and the industry at large.

We found a country that has vast cultural diversity. I had discussions with some of 16 groups of Taiwanese indigenous people who performed in a carnival at the Nanjing Road Square in Taipei, where they were preparing for today’s Indigenous People’s Day.

According to spokesperson Nazhi Piyu, they came from Minnan area which included south Fujian, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen, but some migrated to Taiwan.

“We are the aboriginals who are the real people who are based in here, but our number has decreased. They actually didn’t call us as aboriginal at the beginning, but they used other words such as Bangga, Thufan, Sandiren. To us 1 August is a day to remember that we are the real people,” Nazhi said.