The 'Silicon Shield' was once regarded as the cornerstone of Taiwan's security. However, with the U.S. pushing to revive 'Made in America' initiatives, semiconductor supply chains led by TSMC are starting to shift towards the U.S., raising concerns that the 'Silicon Shield' may be fracturing. German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's latest decisions demonstrate his ongoing confidence in Taiwan—suggesting that Nvidia is becoming the new core of Taiwan's 'Silicon Shield'.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed admiration for the booming semiconductor industry, openly stating, 'Taiwan stole American chip industry.' Following TSMC's announcement of a $165 billion investment in the U.S., Trump shamelessly declared, 'I used tariffs to successfully coerce them into this.' He even imposed a 32% tariff on Taiwan, which he labeled as 'this country that stole our chip industry.' The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung highlighted that the tug-of-war between the semiconductor industry in the U.S. and Taiwan is a significant issue for the island nation, with TSMC being the most important symbol.

Trump's desire to bring high-performance chip manufacturing for artificial intelligence back to the U.S. is strategically reasonable, given the critical hardware needs of Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon should not come from such an unstable region. However, with Taiwan's 24 million population, Trump's policies may face considerable risks. Beijing aims to absorb this democratic island, and TSMC is seen as the most crucial bargaining chip to ensure the U.S. does not remain passive.

Taipei is revising the Industry Innovation Act to prohibit TSMC from relocating its latest technologies to the U.S., although the effect of this regulation remains to be seen. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, there is no belief that the chip ecosystem built by TSMC over decades can truly be replicated elsewhere in the world. Huang's intention to establish an AI computing center in Taiwan signals two crucial points: that he believes in Taiwan's safety and that Taiwan remains vital to technological advancement.

During his participation in Computex in Taipei, Huang remarked, 'Taiwan is the epicenter of the global computer industry; everything starts from here.' He also expressed gratitude to Taiwan's 350 partners who support Nvidia in building infrastructure for the age of artificial intelligence.