Taiwan Issues First National Security Indictment for TSMC Leak to China - Domino Theory

Theory Briefing

• Taiwan's first-ever national security indictment over semiconductor theft signals how seriously chip manufacturing secrets are now treated as strategic assets.
• A former TSMC engineer allegedly stole and shared proprietary semiconductor manufacturing processes with a Chinese party, risking up to seven years in prison.
• TSMC sits at the center of global chip supply chains, making its trade secrets a high-value target in the broader US-China technology rivalry.
• The indictment raises the question of whether insider threats — not just state hacking — are the most direct route to closing the chip-technology gap.