When most in the West begin discussing Taiwan, the conversation almost always centers on whether and how much aid they should provide Taiwan in a worst-case scenario. While it is an important conversation to have, the more important question leaders across Europe should be asking themselves is why they increasingly find they need Taiwan.
The first is the most obvious and well-known reason: chip manufacturing. It is no secret that Taiwan is the world leader and an indispensable part of global computer chip production, accounting for as much as 90 percent of it. Major tech leaders such as Apple, Nvidia, and others rely on chips produced by the Taiwanese firm TSMC. If it were to close tomorrow, the resulting chip shortage would be catastrophic.
But Taiwan isn’t merely a ‘Chip Island’. Its value and necessity stem way beyond the advanced computer chips and hardware produced in a single factory that the tech industry and our daily lives depend on. Its significance goes well beyond the production of goods or its placement in the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan’s real value to the global community lies in its successful democratic resilience in securing not only its own democracy but also unique industrial supply chains on which modern life depends, free from authoritarian influence.
‘Taiwan offers something Europe increasingly requires: practical experience confronting authoritarian pressure’
Europe has had to contend with the realities of dependence on openly hostile powers for its everyday needs, from energy to winter heating. Brussels has long lamented its dependence on these sources and has made using non-authoritarian supply chains to meet its energy needs one of its highest priorities. While Europe has the desire, it doesn’t have the practical experience in carrying out plans of this magnitude.
But Taiwan does.
Taiwan offers something Europe increasingly requires: practical experience confronting authoritarian pressure.
Every day, Taiwan faces cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic coercion, espionage, and military intimidation. While Europe has begun encountering many of these same challenges following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan has lived with them for decades. Few democratic societies possess greater institutional experience in building resilience against hybrid warfare.
It has also had to endure consistent targeting and pressure from the PRC government, which has utilized Taiwan’s business presence in China as a means to exert influence on the Taiwanese government and society. Taiwanese firms such as Foxconn have been constant targets of harassment by the Chinese government, most notably in 2023 when its offices were raided on claims of ‘tax inspections’. While conducting the raid, the Chinese government released a statement stating Foxconn, like other Taiwanese firms, should ‘assume corresponding social responsibilities and play a positive role in promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.’
For European policymakers seeking to strengthen democratic resilience, Taiwan represents not only a partner but also an example to follow.
Taiwan, facing similar pressures from authoritarian powers that have been leveraging their near monopoly on labor to weaponize against them, has gained practical experience in taking affirmative action. When confronted with weaponized economic interdependence that threatened its democratic resilience, Taiwanese firms such as Foxconn began pushing back by diversifying their product production away from China and expanding in places like Vietnam and India. Likewise, American firms like Apple began following suit. They didn’t stop at just relocating factories, but entire industrial ecosystems that can sustain the business environment necessary to produce goods such as Apple iPads, laptops, and other critical electronics.
The results have spoken for themselves. Since 2019, Apple and its supply-chain partners have invested more than US$16 billion in Vietnam, helping transform the country into one of Apple’s principal manufacturing hubs. Where once China enjoyed a near-absolute monopoly that allowed it to apply strategic pressures, it must now contend with newly established economic competitors with vibrant industrial ecosystems that are beginning to rival its own. Taiwan serves as a rare case study where a democracy faced continued systemic pressure and found a major off-ramp that not only reduces pressure but increases its business opportunities and profit margins.
If Europe’s attempts to diversify away from Russian energy are to succeed, it will need to think not only in terms of new energy sources but also in terms of the entire ecosystem that supports energy production. Taiwan offers the perfect case study in how this can be done.
As Europe seeks to reduce strategic dependencies, diversify critical supply chains, and compete in emerging technologies, Taiwan brings capabilities that few can provide. Cooperation with Taiwan strengthens Europe’s economic competitiveness while simultaneously reinforcing democratic resilience.
For too long, the debate has centered on whether Europe should help Taiwan.
That is no longer the right question.
The more important question is whether Europe can successfully navigate the technological, economic, and geopolitical challenges of the 21st century without a close partnership with Taiwan.
Increasingly, the answer appears to be no.
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