新聞/媒體報導

2024/09/10
Los Angeles Times | ONE WORLD MEDIA

洛杉磯時報

Despite geopolitical tensions and shifting global markets, Taiwan continues to prove its resilience by innovating, diversifying, and deepening ties with the United States and other key partners.

Taiwan has long been at the center of global attention, both for its strategic location and for its outsized role in the world economy. Today, the island faces headwinds ranging from slowing global growth to intensifying US-China competition. Yet Taiwan’s story is not one of fragility, it is one of adaptability.

While trade disruptions and inflation have reshaped supply chains, Taiwan has responded by doubling down on high-value sectors. Electronics, healthcare, and precision machinery remain pillars of growth, while green energy and biotech are emerging as new engines. This adaptability is not accidental; it is the product of decades of investment in education, technology, and strong partnerships.

The United States: Taiwan’s Strategic Anchor

The United States remains one of Taiwan’s most important partners, accounting for around 15% of exports and forming the backbone of bilateral collaboration in strategic industries. The Chips and Science Act has further cemented semiconductor cooperation, but the relationship extends far beyond chips.

Taiwanese companies in precision engineering, biotech, and digital health are actively engaging with US partners. For example, AcroViz, a brain health innovator, is working with American hospitals to validate its AI-powered brain age diagnostics. “The U.S. is critical for us,” said AcroViz CEO Isaac Tseng. “It’s not only a vast market, but also the global benchmark for scientific validation.”

Taiwan’s path to the U.S. doesn’t just run through semiconductors – it increasingly runs through regulated, evidence-driven healthcare. That is why Taiwanese founders treat the U.S. as a proving ground for clinical science and commercialization. AcroViz’s Isaac Tseng says the company is aligning its product roadmap to U.S. standards while scaling domestically to build population-level datasets. “We aim to expand MRI-capable sites from two to six across Taiwan so more people can access the Brain Age Examination conveniently,” Tseng noted. “And we see AI not just as a diagnostic tool but as an ongoing companion for brain-health management – an approach that resonates with U.S. partners focused on prevention and outcomes.”

Innovation as a Survival Strategy

Resilience in Taiwan is deeply tied to its culture of innovation. From small labs to global enterprises, Taiwanese companies embrace the philosophy that constant reinvention is the only path forward.

Healthcare firms are developing cutting-edge diagnostic tools, manufacturers are integrating AI into traditional production, and universities are fostering cross-border research collaborations. This culture ensures that Taiwanese products and services remain competitive even in saturated or price-sensitive markets.

Everising Machine Company, a leader in industrial saws, has weathered fluctuations in global demand by pushing technological upgrades. “We are not competing on price; we are competing on innovation and service,” explained Sam Chao, Chairman of Everising. “That’s how Taiwanese companies win, even in difficult times.”

Supply Chains Built on Trust

Taiwan’s unique advantage lies in its tightly knit supply chains. Unlike larger economies, Taiwan’s industrial ecosystem is geographically compact, allowing companies to collaborate, adapt, and deliver at a speed unmatched elsewhere.

Semiconductors remain the flagship, but the network extends to packaging, testing, advanced plastics, and niche machinery. This ecosystem is the backbone of Taiwan’s resilience, enabling it to pivot when markets shift or when disruptions occur.

CKPlas, which supplies advanced plastic injection solutions for semiconductor packaging, is a case in point. “We are a mid-sized company, but our design and responsiveness give global clients the confidence to trust us,” said President Chih-Mao Chiang. “Taiwan’s supply chain is strong because of companies like ours working hand in hand with industry leaders.”

Speed and precision are the currency of trust in Taiwan’s industrial ecosystem, especially in advanced packaging and materials where design tweaks ripple across entire fabs. “We’re a plastic injection specialist that designs and builds our molds in-house. That lets us respond to customer changes quickly and help them hit tight launch windows,” says Chiang, adding that internationalization is a when-not-if decision tied to customer pull: “The big clients move first. We’ll follow them carefully, our principle is simple: do the job well, move when it truly helps customers, and keep improving every cycle.”

Digital Transformation in Manufacturing

Global competition is no longer about who can produce more, but who can produce smarter. Taiwanese manufacturers are embracing Industry 4.0 principles – integrating sensors, AI and cloud systems to create intelligent, efficient production lines.

Techmation, a 40-year-old automation pioneer, illustrates this shift. The company has grown from producing injection molding controllers to developing entire automation ecosystems and renewable energy solutions. “Because we own 80 to 90% of our technology, from chips to systems, we are less vulnerable to external shocks,” noted CTO Jerry Hsiung. “That independence allows us to innovate quickly and support both U.S. and Chinese clients.”

Automation leaders are also de-risking their tech stacks to stay agile across markets. Hsiung says the company’s strategy is to control critical IP and push intelligence to the edge. “That depth of in-house capability means we can localize fast without redesigning the core,” he explained. “We’re expanding from plastics into metal forming and general automation, pairing edge controllers with cloud analytics so factories can predict failures, reduce scrap, and redeploy scarce labor to higher-value work.” The philosophy ties back to a simple mission: “Bring the best technology to traditional manufacturing and make it smarter, step by step.”

Demographic Challenges and Healthcare Opportunities

Like many advanced economies, Taiwan faces demographic challenges. With over 20% of the population now over 65, the healthcare system must adapt rapidly. Yet what might appear as a burden is increasingly viewed as an opportunity.

Hospitals, biotech startups, and research centers are using Taiwan’s universal healthcare system and fully digital records to advance precision medicine, clinical trials, and telehealth solutions. These capabilities not only serve domestic needs but also make Taiwan an attractive partner for global pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers.

The result is a new wave of internationally minded health innovators, such as AcroViz in brain health and Usoon Clinic in fertility care, which are reaching overseas patients while building on Taiwan’s strong medical reputation.

Taiwan’s aging curve is sharpening focus on measurable prevention, a domain where local innovators see global relevance. AcroViz’s Tseng frames it as a national and international mandate: “Our research shows the younger the brain age, the healthier the brain and the lower the dementia risk. By 2035, our goal is to help reduce projected dementia cases in Taiwan by 50,000 through earlier detection and targeted interventions.” The same data pipelines underpin partnerships abroad. “Validating brain-age biomarkers with U.S. institutions is essential,” Tseng added. “It’s how we convert AI insights into clinical decisions that improve lives at scale.”

A Balancing Act Between Giants

Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China place Taiwan in a delicate position. Yet rather than seeing itself as trapped, Taiwan positions itself as a bridge. The strategy is pragmatic: maintain competitiveness in China, expand presence in the U.S., and diversify into Southeast Asia, India, and Europe.

This balancing act is not easy, but Taiwanese business leaders remain pragmatic and optimistic. “We try to be friends with everyone,” said Techmation’s Hsiung. “Taiwan’s strength is that we absorb global technologies and integrate them into manufacturing in ways that benefit both East and West.”

The coming years will test Taiwan. Rising labor costs, demographic shifts, and external political pressures are undeniable realities. Yet the island’s track record shows that each challenge has become a catalyst for reinvention.

From precision manufacturing to biotech, Taiwanese companies are strengthening global partnerships, particularly with the United States. CKPlas supports the semiconductor backbone, Everising ensures industrial quality, Techmation drives digital transformation, and AcroViz pushes medical frontiers. Together, they reflect the island’s broader story of resilience and innovation. It is not simply about survival, it is about turning constraints into strengths. As Sam Chao of Everising put it, “We see challenges as opportunities to raise the bar.”