Thanks Sam-a correction, though, SEMICON Taiwan starts Monday, I just moved up from Hsin Chu, home of most of the tech companies here, including TSMC, UMC, ProMOS, Nanya, and other chip makers, to Taipei. I'm here at the Grand Hyatt, which is just next to the Taiwan World Trade Center (scarey coincidence). Thanks to the CNN, MSNBC, and BBC availability in every hotel room, as well as my laptop for internet connection, I'm able to keep up with everything going on in the US. I was just getting back from dinner at the hotel when I flipped on the TV, probably just 5 minutes after the first plane hit the WTC. And all I wanted to do was check up on our SF Giants and the Bonds homerun total.
Just checked into the show next door, the booth was being assembled, and some of our local technicians were unwrapping our demo systems and setting them up. David Wang, one of our top executives, is apparently the only one from Santa Clara headquarters is flying over. He's extremely well thought of here in Asia, and is a key member of an industry board which has a meeting here.
I'll continue to post from Taiwan during my stay to help give everyone a sense of how this part of the world is taking current events. The english language paper here is mostly filled with the same news as you're reading in the U.S. (I read the papers online mostly, even at home). The Taiwanese economy and stock market have dropped probably even more so here in the last year than in the U.S. Since we consume a good percentage of goods manufactured here, they're very concerned that a further slowdown or recession will really impact them.
More tomorrow.
Your correspondent in Taipei |
