The Annexation of Taiwan

Photo by TangChi Lee on Unsplash

Those who can’t control the metaverse from within it might choose to control its building blocks instead. With power increasingly shifting East, China cements its economic supremacy by making an aggressive move towards the metaverse: it annexes Taiwan. Manufacturing over 90% of the world's advanced chips, Taiwan is the key to controlling the fundamental technology of the metaverse and its supply chains.

The Metas and Microsofts struggle to realize their visions as chip supplies are redirected to Chinese companies. Thanks to climate chaos, extreme and erratic weather conditions destroy manufacturing facilities in other parts of SouthEast Asia, compounding the problem. A slow-to-act West falls further behind.

Evidence:

• Russia's attack on Ukraine halts half the world's neon output for chips.

• Taiwan’s defense minister warns that China could mount a full-scale invasion by 2025.

• Climate chaos fuels political instability.

Who should care:

• Taiwan: it may be in Taiwan’s best interests to distribute semiconductor manufacturing globally.

• Governments: we underestimated Russia; we should not underestimate China.

• Tech companies: if you rely on chips, you need to plan for this scenario.

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