(Original title: Destroy the platform at any time? Asme, the manufacturer of lithography mechanism, said that TSMC lithography machine can be disabled remotely)
Observer.com reported that "once the Chinese mainland attacks Taiwan, Asma and TSMC have the ability to disable the chip manufacturing machine." Bloomberg quoted two sources on May 21, saying that US officials privately expressed concern to Dutch and Chinese Taiwan officials about the consequences of the mainland's attack on Taiwan. However, Asme, the manufacturer of lithography mechanism, assured Dutch officials that corresponding machines, including the most advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), could be remotely disabled.
Two unnamed sources said that Taiwan, China, produced most of the world's advanced chips, so the US government privately expressed its concern about the Taiwan Strait conflict to officials of the Netherlands and Taiwan authorities. Two other sources said that when the Dutch government discussed this issue with Asme, Asme assured officials that the company had the ability to stop the operation of the machine remotely, and they had simulated the possible war in order to properly assess the risk.
Spokesmen for Asme, TSMC and the Netherlands Trade Ministry declined to comment. Spokesmen for the White House National Security Council, the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Commerce did not respond to email requests for comment.
TSMC is an important customer of Asme. About 90% of the world's most advanced chips are produced in Taiwan, China.
The lithography machine produced by Asme displayed on its website
The source said that EUV needs frequent maintenance, and if there are no spare parts provided by Asmar, these machines will stop working soon. The field maintenance requirements of EUV are very high. They are placed in a clean room, and engineers need to wear special suits to avoid pollution.
According to the report, Asmar provides some customers with joint service contracts to carry out some routine maintenance themselves, thus allowing customers such as TSMC to access their own machine systems. Asme said that it was unable to access the customer's proprietary data.
At the regular press conference held by the Taiwan Affairs Office on May 15, a reporter asked that Albert Lovich, a think tank scholar who was once an adviser to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, had recently sent a paper advocating the use of "destruction of TSMC equipment" and other means to make the Chinese mainland understand that "armed criminals" cannot access TSMC. Some green media said that the United States was "protecting Taiwan". What's your comment on this?
Chen Binhua, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China, said that for a period of time, the U.S. anti China forces have used TSMC as a "weapon" and "cannon fodder", and have repeatedly made statements such as "blowing up TSMC", "destroying TSMC equipment", and "remotely paralyzing TSMC", completely exposing their inferiority and evil nature. The United States always gives priority to "American interests". Not only TSMC, but also everything in Taiwan can be discarded at any time in its eyes. It is insulting the intelligence of Taiwan people that the green media stubbornly misinterpret the US statement of "destroying Taiwan" as "protecting". More and more Taiwan compatriots have come to realize that the more "relying on the United States" and the more "destroying Taiwan", the more serious the disaster will be for Taiwan people.
The picture shows Chen Binhua, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China, who said that in the eyes of the US, everything in Taiwan can be discarded at any time
In recent years, the Biden government has repeatedly strengthened pressure on the Dutch government to cooperate with the United States in "containment" of China's advanced semiconductor industry. Among them, Asme, a domestic lithography giant, was required to prevent it from providing after-sales services such as maintenance for "restricted" chip manufacturing equipment purchased by Chinese customers before the current sales ban came into effect.
Peter Wennink, CEO of Asmar, said last month that there was no reason for the company not to provide services for the equipment that had been sold to Chinese customers, and there was no service restriction for the equipment they installed in China.
The financial report shows that in the first quarter of this year, Asma's revenue from mainland China accounted for as much as 49%, about 2 billion euros (about 15.462 billion yuan). However, the shares of Taiwan and South Korea, the company's largest markets in the past, remained low, with only 6% and 19% respectively.
As of the first quarter of this year, mainland China, traditionally the third largest market of ASML, has become its largest market for three consecutive quarters, accounting for 46%, 39% and 49% of revenue respectively, compared with 8% in the first quarter of last year and 24% in the second quarter.
The spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly said that China has always opposed the United States' generalization of the concept of national security and coerced other countries to impose a scientific and technological blockade on China under various pretexts. Semiconductor is a highly globalized industry. In the context of deep economic integration of various countries, the US's acts of hegemony and bullying seriously violate international trade rules, seriously damage the global semiconductor industry pattern, and seriously impact the safety and stability of the international industrial chain supply chain, which will surely bear its own fruit.
Extended Reading
Media: If there is really a big event between the two sides, the time node should be 2027
Wang Yiwei, reporter of Economic Observer Network On May 20, Lai Qingde took office as the new leader of Taiwan and delivered an inaugural speech.
In previous comments, the author pointed out that how Lai Qingde called the mainland in his inaugural speech is an important observation indicator. How Taiwanese politicians address the mainland, whether they call it "mainland" or "mainland China" or "China", represents different political positions.
Indeed, in his speech, Lai Qingde called the mainland "China" and once again declared that the "People's Republic of China" and the so-called "Republic of China" were not subordinate to each other.
This is an upgraded version of Li Denghui's "Two Countries Theory".
Chen Binhua, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China, later characterized Lai Qingde's speech. Chen Binhua said: "In today's speech of leaders in Taiwan, they stubbornly adhered to the position of 'Taiwan independence', vigorously publicized the fallacy of division, incited confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, and tried to 'seek independence by relying on external forces' and' seek independence by force '. Peace rather than war, development rather than recession, exchange rather than separation, cooperation rather than confrontation are the mainstream public opinions in the island. The leaders of the Taiwan region ignored public opinion and acted against the current, releasing dangerous signals of seeking independence, provoking and undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, fully exposing their nature as "Taiwan independence workers". "
Since Lai Qingde has released the danger signal, the mainland must have been prepared. Then the question arises. Will there be any major events between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits during Lai Qingde's four-year term?
The author's prediction is that it is unlikely that major events will occur between the two sides in the next four years. However, 2027 is a very sensitive year. In other words, if there is really a big event between the two sides, the time node should be 2027.
Three reasons:
First, Davidson Window.
On March 9, 2021, Philip Davidson, the commander of the US Indo Pacific Command, said at the hearing of the US Senate Military Committee: "I am worried that they (China) are accelerating their ambitions and intend to replace the US in leading the international community by 2050." "Before they reach this goal, Taiwan is clearly their priority. I think this threat (attacking Taiwan) will be quite significant in the next 10 years. To be honest, it is likely to be in the next 6 years. "
Davidson said in 2021 that China (the People's Liberation Army) may attack (recover) Taiwan in six years, and the time node is 2027. Therefore, many overseas media (including Taiwan media) named his prediction Davidson Window.
Philip Davidson, former commander of the US Indo Pacific Command, has stepped down
Davidson will step down on April 30, 2021, and his successor will be John Christopher Aquilino. On March 20, 2024, Aguilino continued his predecessor's statement when he attended the hearing of the Armed Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives before leaving office. In his written testimony, Aquilino said that all signs indicated that the People's Liberation Army would "be ready to invade Taiwan before 2027".
The current commander of the US Indo Pacific Command is Samuel Paparo. He took office on May 3 this year and has been in office for less than a month. He has not made public remarks about the Davidson window.
It is expected that as 2027 approaches, the reporting, analysis, prediction and rendering of this time node by overseas media will gradually increase. In the process of data collection, the author has seen such sensational topics as "Davidson's window ticking".
Despite the above statements by the US military and overseas media, 2027 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PLA, which is indeed a very important time node. What kind of appearance the PLA will take, how to celebrate its centennial, and what kind of strength and determination it will show to the outside world are highly expected.
Second, Taiwan's general election.
2027 is Taiwan's election year. It is expected that the general election will warm up at the beginning of the year, start in the middle of the year and sprint at the end of the year. If nothing happens, Lai Qingde is bound to seek re-election. In order to achieve re-election, will Lai Qingde storm on the road of "Taiwan independence"? If he bursts, how will the mainland react? These are unknowns. These unknowns increase the possibility of major events between the two sides in 2027.
Third, the evolution of the international situation and the calculation of the United States.
Four years later (2027), it is difficult to predict the progress of the Russian Ukrainian conflict and the new round of Palestinian Israeli conflict. The author has a tendentious view that the probability of the two conflicts mentioned above will gradually subside, and the United States will withdraw from these two conflicts.
If so, will the United States devote more strength and energy to the Indo Pacific region?
In addition, if the United States believes that China is its biggest strategic opponent, then for the purpose of curbing China's rise and escorting Lai Qingde to re-election, will the United States increase its efforts to manipulate the situation in the Taiwan Strait, making cross-strait relations dangerous and on the verge of a showdown. This is also uncertain.
Despite the above three key indicators, the author still believes that it is unlikely that major events will occur between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits during Lai Qingde's tenure. There are many factors in this, the most important of which is the strength of the mainland and the determination of the Taiwan strategy. Lai Qingde and others dare not rush on the road of "Taiwan independence", and the United States is unable to intervene too deeply in the Taiwan Sea.
The above is the author's humble opinion. Let's see how far cross-strait relations will go in the next four years.
