TSMC is already dead! It didn't die under missiles, but on two A4 papers from China and the United States. On one side, the United States revoked its export license to China; on the other, China's new regulations on rare earths have blocked its exports to the U.S. Losing both the Chinese and American markets, this company is now a mere shadow of itself.

Let's dissect the killing power of these two "A4 papers." The first blow came from the U.S.: In early September, the Trump administration revoked TSMC's technology export license to China, meaning that if you want to sell chips to the mainland, you must first ask the U.S. for permission. The second blow came from China: We countered directly by introducing restrictions on rare earth exports. For companies like TSMC, Samsung, and Intel, if their chips contain Chinese rare earths, they need to get approval from Beijing before selling them to the U.S.

The U.S. won't let you sell to China, and China won't let you sell to the U.S. Two blows and it's over.

The most tragic part is that this "deceased" once believed itself to be the chosen one, the "national protection mountain" of Taiwan. Taiwanese "independence" activists and U.S. politicians constantly praised it, boasting that "TSMC is the greatest company in the world," hoping to use it as a hostage to play the game of "using TSMC to command the feudal lords." They thought that with it in place, the U.S. would surely save it, and China would hesitate to act.

It was a beautiful dream. But they didn't expect that even before the missiles from the People's Liberation Army arrived, the two documents from Washington and Beijing had already buried this "mountain of gods." The ending of this play is probably an unexpected outcome for all the "Taiwan independence" activists: their last shield did not require the PLA to act; the two major players, the U.S. and China, themselves offered it as a sacrifice. I wonder what their feelings are upon seeing this result?

What do you think about TSMC's current desperate situation?

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845980056741888/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.