(China, 3rd) The Chinese Embassy in the United States recently published high-resolution satellite images of Taiwan taken by the 'Jilin-1' satellite, with some streets and buildings clearly identifiable. Among these, the aerial photo of Hsinchu Science Park has triggered alerts from US technology media and industry analysts, who point out that Hsinchu is the global center for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, and that a single image can convey a message from Beijing.
In an expansion of its united front publicity, the Chinese Embassy in the US posted several high-definition satellite images of Taiwan shot by 'Jilin-1' on social media platform X on October 31, including Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, Taipei City, Hsinchu Science Park, and Eluanbi Peninsula. The post claimed that, from the perspective of 'Jilin-1', 'China's Taiwan Province' is full of vitality in every inch of land and pinned the article to the top of the page.
Industry analyst Patrick Moorhead reposted the image of Hsinchu Science Park and emphasized its importance: 'Let me be clear,' he said, TSMC’s Fab 12A, Fab 12B, and advanced wafer backend facilities are all located in Hsinchu Science Park.
Moorhead also listed the major companies collaborating with TSMC: '(Hsinchu Science Park) is also home to TSMC's headquarters and global R&D center, where all the world’s advanced foundry intellectual property is developed to build chips for companies such as NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, Apple, and Qualcomm, as well as several recent Intel products.'
The US tech news site Tom's Hardware reported on Sunday (2nd) that while the post did not directly mention semiconductors, it was not necessary to say so. Hsinchu is the site of TSMC's first fab, as well as headquarters for MediaTek and UMC, and also hosts key governmental agencies responsible for Taiwan's aerospace and chip strategies.
Nowhere else on Earth is there such a concentration of cutting-edge logic process nodes as in Hsinchu. It's the birthplace of AI model training GPUs, the location where desktop and server CPUs are etched and formed, and the hub for designing the most advanced silicon IPs.
This is not the first time Beijing has tried to remind the world of Taiwan’s vulnerability. Tom's Hardware reports that in recent months, the Chinese navy has conducted simulated blockades in the Taiwan Strait, inspecting merchant ships and raising concerns over the possibility of cutting off this vital maritime choke point.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated in September that the world's most severe single potential risk point is that 99% of high-performance chips are produced in Taiwan. As far back as 2021, a White House assessment warned that even a temporary drop in TSMC production could impact everything from data centers to national defense.
Tom's Hardware commented that 'the Chinese embassy does not need to directly mention these circumstances. Under the current tensions, a photo of Hsinchu alone is enough to send the message.'