?? The birth of TSMC
The founder of 台积公司 , Morris Chang, recounted the origin story of the legendary company. Kwangyin Liu 劉光瑩 , CommonWealth English 天下雜誌英文網 editor.
Morris Chang: No TSMC without K. T. Li
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) founder, Morris Chang, is the recipient of the first K.T. Li Award. During his acceptance speech, he recounted memorable encounters with Li in three acts.
By Yixuan Lin
On November 9, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) founder, Morris Chang, was named the winner of the first K.T. Li Award, presented by the K.T. Li Foundation for Development of Science and Technology. The award is presented to individuals that have made outstanding contributions to Taiwan’s economic and technological development, who are widely recognized throughout Taiwanese society, are internationally well known, and who have deep connections to the late Mr. Li Kwoh-ting (K.T. Li).
The jury for the first K.T. Li Award consisted of former Premier Vincent Siew, Sercomm chairman emeritus Paul Wang, Delta Electronics founder Bruce C.H. Cheng, former National Taiwan University president Sun Jen, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) chairman Lee Chih-Kung Lee, former ITRI president Chin-Tay Shih, and Taiwan Women on Boards Association chairwoman Jaclyn Tsai. The panel unanimously voted to give the award to Morris Chang.?
“Under Morris Chang’s leadership of TSMC, Taiwan attracted attention to become a brilliant technology island on the Pacific Rim. This is the highest embodiment of the K.T. Li Award,” said Vincent Siew during the presentation of the award.
Current TSMC chairman Dr. Mark Liu and CEO C.C. Wei attended the festivities. Also in attendance were President Tsai Ing-wen, ACER founder Stan Shih, Quanta founder Barry Lam, and Hon Hai founder Terry Gou. NVIDIA founder and chairman Jensen Huang was also present at the ceremony with his wife, Lori.
Following is the translated text of Morris Chang’s speech:
I accept the first K.T. Li Award with utmost honor and humility. I would like to read from sections of my nearly completed, but not yet released autobiography, related to personal experiences with Mr. Li.
My relationship with Mr. Li Kwoh-ting can be illustrated in three acts. Everyone is familiar with the third act, that being Taiwan Semiconductor. However, most people are probably unaware of the first and second acts.
Act One: The Plot (1976-80)
In 1976 I was invited to visit Taiwan by the Chinese Institute of Engineers, chaired by (former Minister Without Portfolio) Fei Hua. At that time my career at Texas Instruments was at its height. I was not only president of TI’s global semiconductor operations, but also chairman of the company headquarters’ Business Growth Commission.
The Growth Commission was specially organized by then company CEO Patrick Haggerty. In addition to me as chairman, the company CEO, COO, and several vice presidents also sat on the commission.
Before then I rarely traveled to Taiwan, maybe once every year or two to visit the assembly testing facility in Chungho before proceeding to travel all over Asia.
In 1976, when Fei Hua invited me to give a speech in Taiwan, K.T. Li had undergone heart surgery and was serving as a Minister Without Portfolio. He came to listen to my speech about digital watches. In the capacity of company chairman, I explained how to plan, implement, set pricing, and how to estimate market size.
Immediately after the lecture, Mr. Li invited me to dine with him.
This was a plot. Texas Instruments was an outstanding company at the time, not only the world’s number one in semiconductors, but also involved in weapons development for national defense.
K.T. Li wanted to establish a relationship with TI as part of a deliberate plot. And my speech provided him with the opportunity.
This is the first act. The main characters were K.T. Li and Patrick Haggerty, but I was also a key character.
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Not long thereafter, K.T. Li invited Mr. Haggerty for a two-week visit to Taiwan. Every meal was a banquet, there were daily speeches, and the floor was always covered with a red carpet. Technological advisors were present at Haggerty’s invitation, mostly from Europe and America.
For several years, K.T. Li visited TI nearly every year, and it was always me that hosted him.
Read the full article:
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In this episode, we chat with I-yun (Elaine) Huang from CommonWealth Magazine Group(天下雜誌集團) about 台积公司 's ambitious chip manufacturing hub in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Our conversation also touches on TSMC's strategies moving forward amidst the labor controversy. Can planning mitigate the climate change risks? And how quickly does TSMC have to adapt to become a truly international company?