Environment Taiwan Diverts Water From Farmers to Chip Makers Amid Historic Drought

tom_mai78101

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A new irrigation policy that favors Taiwan's chipmakers over its rice farmers has led to increased tension between the two, The New York Times reported Thursday, as the country attempts to respond to a water shortage caused by an ongoing drought.

Liberty Times Net reported that Taiwan's Water Resources Agency shut off irrigation to more than 183,000 acres of farmland to conserve water. Yet companies in the Hsinchu Science Park—most notably TSMC—still receive the precious liquid.

It might seem odd to prioritize chip production over farming, but Water Resources Agency deputy director Wang Yi-Feng told the NYT that the inverse would be a "lose-lose" because the farmers would suffer from low yields even with irrigated water.

Yet a recent study co-authored by the Semiconductor Industry Alliance estimated that 92% of the world's sub-10nm chip production happens in Taiwan. That means problems in the country "may cause severe interruptions in the supply of chips."

 
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The Helper

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We need those chips LOL! Is everyone still starving in China is this going to hurt stuff?
 

tom_mai78101

The Helper Connoisseur / Ex-MineCraft Host
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We need those chips LOL! Is everyone still starving in China is this going to hurt stuff?
They aren't starving in China. This is due to some unusually high air pressure buildup around the east coasts of Asia continent. Possibly caused by an El Nina event that's occurring right now.
 
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