Taiwan chip magnate pledges cash for defense against China: 'I'm telling everyone to oppose the CCP'

A Taiwanese semiconductor magnate is to provide the money to prime several million "civilian warriors" and marksmen to help defend the island nation in the event of an invasion by China. Robert Tsao, founder of Taiwan's first semiconductor company, United Microelectronics Corp (UMC), said at a press conference yesterday he …

[Phones Sheridan]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

It’s all in the article. He’s further funding an existing civilian defence corps to increase its ranks by 3 million per year.

I believe Finland do something similar already, and Ukraine’s civilians caught up pretty quickly and effectively in a relatively short time. Defending your family provides a pretty good incentive to learn quickly.

[Peter2]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

Ukraine’s civilians caught up pretty quickly and effectively in a relatively short time. Defending your family provides a pretty good incentive to learn quickly.

They used to run a form of National Service, which meant that most men had already had some basic training.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

So does Taiwan

[llaryllama]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

I have recently been to a similar civil defense course here in Taiwan, the focus is mostly on first aid (which very few Taiwanese are trained for), urban survival techniques and generally dealing with emergency situations. There is some very basic handgun training - bear in mind almost all adult males have done compulsory military service so already have some experience with rifles.

If we did end up in a hot war it can only help to have an extra few million people able to use a gun and administer first aid. In peace times this kind of training is still very useful for car accidents, earthquakes, floods etc.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

The RoC already has a pretty effective and substantial defence system. Problem is some people relish conflict and war. Look at the history of the USA since WWII and the UK forever.

[Peter2]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

Presuming he'll really spend the money on this, how long will it take to train these new troops to an effective and useful standard, and to form an effective logistics organization?

Effective and useful for what?

Or is this simply an invitation to Martyrville ( "Here's an old Mosin-Nagant rifle and 20 rounds. Go get 'em, Tiger!" )?

Add a scope to that old Mosin-Nagant rifle and hand out a few million of them in a city, and no military planner is going to want to go within a mile of the place, and I do mean that quite literally since a moderately skilled marksman can hit people at that range with a scope and some practice. That means that the attackers would probably need a 3-1 advantage in numbers for securing that area, which is a tricky one when your landing people in an amphibious operation or paradropping them in.

It'd deny any urban areas to invaders unless they are in APC's or tanks. And I take it that you noticed from Ukraine what happens to tanks when defending infantry have modern anti tank weapons and infantry won't advance unsupported?

The logistics requirements to support these people would be quite light since a militia on home ground can get food from normal sources and ammo can simply be issued to anybody who needs it.

And you can probably do quite a lot better than an old Mosin-Nagant rifle given a few years notice.

[G.Y.]

Latvia Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

I believe that, immediately after independence, Latvia made it easy to buy guns

[gandalfcn]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

You have how many ports has the RoC got capable of bringing in food, "ammo" etc.? Kaohsiung, Keelung, Hualien and Taichung. Meanwhile the 2nd largest navy in the world is blockading and taking over control of those ports.

Shooting down a civilian drone over Shiyu was a somewhat daft thing to do as there are thousands of tourists on boats filming the island all the time.

Not forgetting that the PRC has started it does not want to take Taiwan by force but the warmongers in the USA, and their lap dogs, keep antagonising Beijing for their own political agendas and needs. Hello Nancy! Elections coming up are they?

[Peter2]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

Have you noticed how far away from the Ukraine coast the Russian Navy is keeping since their flagship went down to an anti ship missile?

I'm sure that China would do better than Russia, but that's only because Russia's performance is actually the new baseline for catastrophic that anybody, including a random bunch of drunks picked out of a pub ought to be able to improve upon.

The PRC can state that it doesn't want to invade Taiwan through force, but the number of amphibious warfare ships tells a different story. Had Russia steamrolled Ukraine in 3 days then honestly I think that troops would have been landing in Taiwan by now.

The fact that it's been an unmitigated disaster for Russia has probably put China off.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

Has is ever entered your mind that the PRC has never invaded another country as opposed the history of such and other subversion by the USA (and the UK) and is simply preparing for a USA instigated revolt in what it considers it's own country?

"Had Russia steamrolled Ukraine in 3 days then honestly I think that troops would have been landing in Taiwan by now." It walked into and took over the Crimea. The PRC didn't then attack the RoC, so your logic is fallacious.

[Peter2]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

Um. I take it that your not familiar with Korea, Tibet etc?

[llaryllama]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

I'd like to see how your "blockade" works in an actual hot war when your boats are being attacked by Taiwan's very advanced domestically made land to sea missiles.

In Taiwan nobody cared about the whole recent Chinese show of force and we just let you get on with it like a parent ignoring their 3 year old's tantrum. You were being laughed at by most of Taiwan the whole time.

Tibet, South Korea, India, Soviet Union.. it's almost like the history books you read are missing some parts hey?

The PRC stated that it doesn't steal intellectual property, wasn't going to militarize its artificial islands, doesn't interfere in foreign politics etc. etc. Well that's me reassured.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

Unless the article got the figures wrong, it sounds like $3.20 per person to train 3,000,000 per year.

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

The article indicates that the money will help train 3 million people, so presumably it's in addition to existing funding from other sources. On a per-head basis, I agree that it doesn't seem like very much.

[llaryllama]

Re: Another Rich Corn Flake?

We get universal healthcare in Taiwan for an average of around $40/month per household and hospitals are pretty much US standard so yeh, it's a pretty efficient place.

[M.V. Lipvig]

Interesting...

What this guy wants to do is exactly why the US has a 2nd Amendment, as a last line of defense against foreign invaders. I guess the logic behind it isn't as stupid as some people have claimed it to be after all, if multiple other nations are suddenly doing the same.

[Phones Sheridan]

Re: Interesting...

It says they are providing training. Not arming citizens with ARs.

[StudeJeff]

Re: Interesting...

Part of the "well regulated militia" thing is people having their own weapons.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Interesting...

Maybe you should explain that t0 the Trump Party RINOs.

Also, the US has Civil Defence but no actual military civil defence, all it has is what the NRA considered "hillbillies, nuts, whackos, idiots and fruitcakes."

[gandalfcn]

Re: Interesting...

I note a Septic doesn't know its own system.

[Lordrobot]

NEWSFLASH CHINA HAS NUKES... THE US WILL NEVER GO TO WAR WITH CHINA

Especially over Taiwan. Once the US builds its 30 fab plants in the USA it will have no use for Taiwan. And the Taiwan Fab market will dry up. Taiwan's largest trader is the Mainland. US sending weapons to Taiwan is reminiscent of sending weapons and advisors to South Vietnam. In the end the US forces were hightailing it out of Saigon by helicopter.

Here is an equation for you. How many cruise missiles does China have to launch to destroy the Taiwan Semiconductor industry? Don't think for a minute the people of Taiwan don't know that the US self-interest in Taiwan is just semiconductors.

[Reg Reader 1]

Re: NEWSFLASH CHINA HAS NUKES... THE US WILL NEVER GO TO WAR WITH CHINA

Wow, the Russian's and the Chinese sure like to talk about having nukes. So, do many other countries, so why it is that totalitarian regimes have to bring up that they have nukes all the time. I think it's small man syndrome.

[llaryllama]

Re: NEWSFLASH CHINA HAS NUKES... THE US WILL NEVER GO TO WAR WITH CHINA

What relevance does this comment have to do with the article?

Nobody mentioned the US, we are talking about Taiwanese defending Taiwan.

Off topic tangent notwithstanding

1) Taiwan is nothing like Vietnam

2) Taiwan also has cruise missiles (devastatingly good ones, in fact), what's your point?

3) Taiwan's trade with China is rapidly becoming irrelevant as our current administration has been expanding trade with SE Asia, North America and the EU. We are not just exporting chips either, Taiwan has a massive export trade in general electronics and industrial machinery. A very large percentage of high end quality tools sold around the world are currently made in Taiwan.

[Dave 107]

Re: NEWSFLASH CHINA HAS NUKES... THE US WILL NEVER GO TO WAR WITH CHINA

100% right - Just swindle as much campaign funding as possible to insure a "defense", with no real intention of providing a defense. And if Taiwan pushes back, fly there, and bring your son Paul along. We'll make sure the US sends billions of US taxpayers dollars like we did for Ukraine, and you send my ice cream money to Paul's businesses.

Taiwan, ~100 miles off the coast of China. Cuba ~100 miles off the coast of US. Whatever we do for Taiwan, China could do for Cuba. 1962, Cuban Missile Crisis, US blockades Cuba. China could simply blockade this tiny island. The US isn't going to first strike attack a Chinese warship, for fear we'll have another Pearl Harbor. There's a reason the Chinese have done nothing. They already control the gov't. It's jiu jitsu politics, suffocation until submission, by using your own weight against you. Keep funding US politicians who work for the CCP anyway. And shift your new factories from red states to blue states. Answer get out and vote! Ukraine has been invaded twice now under demoncrats.