Washington isn’t even hiding it anymore.
In the latest round of U.S.–Taiwan tariff talks, the U.S. Commerce Secretary openly stated that America wants over US$300 billion in Taiwanese investment, plus Taiwanese labour to train America’s semiconductor workforce, all for one purpose: Move Taiwan’s entire semiconductor supply chain onto U.S. soil.
On the island, even pro-DPP communities are furious.
Commenters slammed the administration as “beyond saving” pointing out that with Lai Ching-te’s promised US$40 billion in U.S. arms purchases, Taiwan’s wealth, built over three generations, is being handed away piece by piece.
Beijing’s response was blunt. According to the Taiwan Affairs Office:
The DPP has “knelt before negotiations even began”.
They are “deceiving their own people again and again”.
Washington is being allowed to extract Taiwan’s most valuable industries at will.
TSMC’s forced US$100 billion expansion in the U.S. has already triggered panic among Taiwanese industry.
And a US$300 billion follow-up would severely weaken Taiwan’s economic vitality and autonomy.
And they warned: Taiwan’s population needs to unite and oppose the DPP’s pro-U.S. sell-out strategy before it’s too late.
But Lai Ching-te doubled down.
In a New York Times interview, he claimed sending TSMC and the semiconductor industry abroad would “promote global prosperity.” His deputy Lai Hsiao-bi-khim went further, saying building mega-fabs in the U.S. is a “meaningful contribution to American manufacturing.”
Beijing’s reply was scathing:
1. “Lai’s administration is a professional seller of Taiwan, a shameless fraud group.”
2. Taiwan’s hard-earned assets are being looted, yet the DPP paints it as progress.
3. Taiwan’s companies and people are being sacrificed, yet the DPP celebrates it as contributing to America.
And honestly? They’re not wrong.
Every move Washington is making follows a clear logic:
1. Strip Taiwan of its technological crown jewel
2. Move fabs, engineers and upstream suppliers to America
3. Reduce Taiwan’s strategic value once extraction is complete
4. Make Taipei dependent on U.S. security commitments and arms sales
5. Keep the island politically aligned through economic leverage
This isn’t “cooperation.”
It’s extraction!
The U.S. is using Taiwan; can nobody see where this is heading?
Anyone living in Taiwan can already see the writing on the wall, even if Western audiences can’t, or don’t want to.
Author: Saikat Bhattacharya
