
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan -- The 30-minute drive south on National Freeway 1 from Tainan Science Park to Kaohsiung reveals a landscape teeming with construction for Taiwan's booming tech industry.
Leaving the science park where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is building its most advanced chip factory, the highway heads to Kaohsiung. The industrial port used to be a hub for oil refineries and petrochemical plants but is now part of a government plan to create new semiconductor facilities needed to sustain Taiwan's strategic importance.