Taiwan’s president has given former US President Donald Trump a copy of the autobiography of the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker. The gift, delivered directly to Trump, was intended to promote greater semiconductor cooperation between Taiwan and the United States.
A Personal Diplomatic Gesture
The book, written by TSMC’s founder, traces the company’s rise from a state-backed startup to a global powerhouse that makes chips for Apple, Nvidia, and other tech giants. By handing over the autobiography, Taiwan’s president aimed to highlight the strategic importance of TSMC and the island’s role in the global chip supply chain.
The move comes as Washington and Taipei deepen ties around semiconductor production, with TSMC currently building two advanced fabrication plants in Arizona under a $40 billion investment plan. US lawmakers have increasingly stressed the need to secure domestic chip manufacturing, while Taiwan remains the dominant producer of the most advanced processors.
Why TSMC Matters to US-China Rivalry
TSMC’s technology is at the heart of the US-China competition over semiconductors. The company’s ability to make cutting-edge 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips gives it outsized influence in defense, AI, and consumer electronics. Any disruption to Taiwan’s chip output — say from a Chinese blockade or invasion — would ripple through the global economy.
Trump, who as president pushed for more US chip manufacturing, has not publicly commented on the gift. But the gesture signals that Taiwan sees the former president as a potential ally in future discussions about semiconductor policy, regardless of the outcome of the 2024 election.
Autobiography as a Soft-Power Tool
Gifting a founder’s memoir is a classic diplomatic tactic: it frames a business relationship as a personal story. Taiwan’s president is betting that Trump, a businessman himself, will connect with the narrative of building a company from scratch into a global monopoly. The book also serves as a reminder that TSMC’s success is Taiwanese success, and that the island’s stability is critical to the chip industry’s future.
The gesture is not the first time Taiwan has used corporate memorabilia in diplomacy. In 2022, the president sent a TSMC-produced chip to a visiting US delegation. This time, the medium is a book — but the message is the same: Taiwan wants the US to treat semiconductor cooperation as a top priority.
The gift comes as TSMC ramps up production at its Arizona site and as the US Commerce Department awards billions in subsidies to chip companies under the CHIPS Act. Whether Trump — if he returns to office — will embrace Taiwan’s overture remains an open question. For now, the autobiography sits with a man who once called Taiwan a “tiny little island” but also boasted about his role in its defense.
