TSMC makes a lot of stuff besides the EUV-scale parts that all the YouTube videos talk about.
Almost everything you own that runs on electricity has some parts from Taiwan in it. TSMC alone makes MEMS components, CMOS image sensors, NVRAM, and mixed-signal/RF/analog parts to name a few.
Also, people seem to assume that TSMC is an autonomous entity that receives sand at one loading dock and ships wafers out at another. That's not how fabs work. Their processes depend on a continuous supply of exotic materials and proprietary maintenance support from other countries, many of them US-aligned. There is no need to booby-trap any equipment at TSMC; it will grind to an unrecoverable halt soon after the first Chinese soldier fires a rifle or launches a missile.
Hopefully Xi understands that. But some say it's a personal beef/legacy thing with him, and that he doesn't even care about TSMC.
Almost everything you own that runs on electricity has some parts from Taiwan in it. TSMC alone makes MEMS components, CMOS image sensors, NVRAM, and mixed-signal/RF/analog parts to name a few.
Also, people seem to assume that TSMC is an autonomous entity that receives sand at one loading dock and ships wafers out at another. That's not how fabs work. Their processes depend on a continuous supply of exotic materials and proprietary maintenance support from other countries, many of them US-aligned. There is no need to booby-trap any equipment at TSMC; it will grind to an unrecoverable halt soon after the first Chinese soldier fires a rifle or launches a missile.
Hopefully Xi understands that. But some say it's a personal beef/legacy thing with him, and that he doesn't even care about TSMC.