Given the Chinese stated goal to recapture Taiwan and its recent mandates of state ownership, TSMCs reliance on Taiwan soil facilities is an existential threat to their business as a private enterprise. On the one hand keeping the semiconductor dependent on Taiwan solidifies their defense by being critical to global supply chains, on the other that may not be enough. As a business they need to prepare for the loss of their major manufacturing facilities. I don’t think this is a photo op, it’s a first step in a decoupling and the establishing of an off shore base of operations outside of their main base.

I find it sad issues like visas for Taiwanese experts are at the fore here. I would look at as an opportunity to bootstrap local talent through collaboration and some percentage of those visas will turn into citizens and permanent residents, aka Americans.