SGRA kawaraban 943 of November 3 reported my essay “Let’s learn about Taiwan more” which the author reported at the session of INAF (Institute for Northeast Asian Future) of the 6th Asia Future Conference.    I made a report under the theme “Re-organization of Global Supply Chain in Semiconductor Industry - Struggle for Hegemony between the United States and China, and Taiwan”. Amid such severe trade friction and struggle for hegemony between the US and China, it is said that a “Country which controls semiconductors can control the 21st century”. I gathered and analyzed articles and tried to clarify the relations between the US, China and Taiwan for the development, production and sales of semiconductors.   In November, we got noteworthy news related to this theme. “(Central Bangkok) Summit Talks of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Corporation) ended in Bangkok on November 19. Morris Chang (91 years old), on behalf of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, revealed at a press conference on the 19th night that he had unofficial talks with Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, in the morning of 18th, the first day of the conference. According to Mr. Chang, they exchanged greetings in the breakroom on the morning of the 18th. When he told Xi that he got an operation on hip joint last year, Xi Jinping responded saying “I’m glad to see that you seem fine”. He said also about the meeting with US Vice President Kamala Devi Harris. According to him, Ms. Harris welcomes the factory construction of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), which is a leading company in the semiconductor industry, in Arizona and showed American determination which supports Taiwan. Mr.　Chang is a founder of TSMC and it is the sixth time since he was elected as the representative of APEC in 2006. It is the fifth time since 2016 since President Tsai’s inauguration.   TSMC is a world-leading semiconductor company. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan, Taiwan foundry (contract manufacturing of semiconductors) is enjoying a 70 percent market share in the world. It is said that TSMC, the top of the foundry, exceeds 50%. Especially, they are taking lead in the world in the logic device industry. According to SIA (Semiconductor Industrial Association in America), 92% of factories which can produce less than one nano-meter line width exist in Taiwan and 8% in South Korea. Especially foundries in Taiwan can produce the world’s latest computer chips which can be mounted in almost all high-tech machines such as from cell phones to fighter planes.   As to semiconductors, both USA and China rely on Taiwan. According to the Nikkei Shinbun, TSMC is supplying high-performance chips Xilinx which can be mounted on F-35 jet fighters and other military chips approved by the US Department of Defense. We do not know how the US army relies on Taiwan chips. But we can imagine its importance from the fact that US Government pressurize TSMC to move their military chip factory to the US mainland from Taiwan. US industry relies on Taiwan semiconductors. It is said that only TSMC can supply 5nm processor chips which are mounted on the products line of iPhone 12, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. A15 Bionic chips which are built-in into the latest gadget of iPhone 13 or iPad mini of Apple are made by TSMC. Other big enterprises in America like Qualcomm, NVIDIA, AMD and Intel are TSMC’s clients.   China imported semiconductor chips amounting to USD 300billion from Taiwan in 2020. Needless to say, Taiwan is the biggest import source of China. They are investing hundreds of billions of Dollars to minimize their dependability on foreign chips under the plan “China Made 2025”. But it will take time to cover their needs by domestic supply. SMIC, semiconductor manufacturer in China, have entered 7nm production recently. But they are a few generations behind TSMC which produce 3nm or 2nm already. It means Chinese companies cannot help but rely on Taiwan-made chips. Huawei, the Chinese high-tech company, is the second largest customer of TSMC and relies on TSMC for 5nm and 7nm processors. It is said that Huawei contributed to TSMC’s revenue by 12% in 2021.    What kind of relations are there between the above report and the title of this essay “養鶏金卵と殺鶏取卵“？ The two idioms which consist of four Chinese characters are Chinese proverbs. It means “Feed chickens for the purpose to keep taking eggs or kill chickens to get eggs and eat their meat”. The clever choose the former and the stupid choose the latter.   US Government applied a permission system for the export of semi-conductor production equipment for miniaturization 14 nm or more to SMIC, the biggest foundry in China. It is an embargo. US Government tightened regulations having applied a permission system for the export of high-efficient AI chips to China which are suspected to be used for military purposes. On August 9, CHIPS Bill was enacted in the US. It encourages production capacity, research and development, and supply chain of the US semiconductor industry by subsidy amounting＄52.7 billion and tax deduction. People say, “The one who controls semi-conductors can control the world”. If Taiwan would be swallowed by China, China could control the world. The US, the hegemony, cannot concede it. We want to avoid the US-China war over the Taiwan matter.     How is the correspondence of China? When Nancy P. Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taiwan on August 2, a few authorities in China reacted all at once saying “she violated Chinese ‘Red-line’”. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called up US Ambassador Mr. William J. Burns at night unusually. He condemned severely saying “Nancy P. Pelosi provoked intentionally and destroyed peace and stability of Taiwan strait. The result is very important. We cannot overlook it and you must compensate for your mistake.” In the afternoon of four days after the return of Pelosi to the US, China announced that they had “Important military exercise” at surrounding areas of Taiwan strait having launched eleven missiles at six airspaces and waters. We remember it vividly.   At the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping said that “We never promise we waive our use of force” and “We must accomplish our reunification”. The most important theme of “Great reconstruction of ‘Zhonghua minzu (Chinese race)’ in his saying is “Homeland unification”. The US and the West analyze that Xi Jinping aims at Taiwan unification during his term of office. If Xi Jinping understands peaceful reunification of Taiwan is difficult (the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan is opposing their unification), unification by use of armed might “cannot be denied”.   According to a net-media “観察者網”（Observer Network？）、economist Ms. Chen Weiling, China Center for International Exchange (she is said to be one of the influential economist for policy making of the Government) made a speech at a lecture meeting of People’s University of China on May 30. She said, “If the US and the West impose destructive sanctions on China like against Russia, we must get back Taiwan for the reconstruction of the supply network. TSMC was originally Chinese own”.     If the Chinese Government would decide and take an action following her words, it may lead to a war for the “liberation of Taiwan”. It means that if China would expect to get Taiwan which lay eggs, it is the same that China killing Taiwan only for getting one egg. I hope the leaders of China would not be so stupid. China should select the way of the wise men “feed chickens to be kept supplying eggs”. It is a way for peace. In such meaning, flexible diplomatic meeting of Mr. Morris Chan with leaders of the US and China at APEC had an important meaning.     SGRA Kawaraban 725 in Japanese (Original)     LI Kotestu / Chairman of INAF (Institute for Northeast Asian Future)     Translated by Kazuo Kawamura English checked by Sabina Koirala

I am looking forward to joining Asia Future Conference (AFC) which open happens every two years. I am interested in not just the presentation and discussion at AFC but also the meeting with Raccoon (Scholarship students of Atsumi International Foundation) around the world. For me, AFC is an event which is bustling and filled with laughter. AFC was postponed one year due to Covid-19 and opened as a hybrid conference this time. Almost all participants, including myself, joined from their homes on an online basis. We regret we could not go to Taiwan. I report about this unique AFC experience as follows.   I was involved in sessions as a chairman, closing ceremony as the emcee and the round-table conference of Asian Cultural Dialogues (ACD). ACD which was suggested by Mr. Tunoda, Director General of Atsumi International Foundation, is the forum of network and discussion.   I was in charge this year for the first time. Due to Covid-19, the program became shorter than what was originally planned. The theme was “Mental health trauma and fatigue in Asia” because we have daily stress and change in our society due to Covid-19. After the presentations from Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, we had comments from India, Thailand and Japan and had discussions with them.   The effect of Covid-19 was on a global scale. But the correspondence and situation of each country are different. It was very interesting to understand and discuss such differences among members of the conference. I was impressed by the report of Professor Maria Lourdes Rosanna E de Guzman from the Philippines. She reported that their government began to support mental health thanks to activists who fought for a long time and got achievements. The report about relations between inequality of gender and mental health by Mr. Vickie Skorji, Japan put me in a thoughtful state. I acknowledged the importance of proper correspondence having imagined people in various positions.   Commentators: Mr. Carine Jacqet and Ranjana Mukhopadhaya（Raccoon member）, have both been involved in ACD round-table conference before. Professor Kuritaya Sreesunpagi has only been involved in this ACD round-table conference recently. I got a feeling of a big influence of Covid-19 and studied about political issues and its relationship with Covid-19. I could have a feeling of continuity and bonds with ACD network and like to express my respect for Mr. Tsunoda and the people who have participated from the beginning. After fulfilling the discussion, we had ten minutes of meditation under the direction of Mr. Kuritaya and could end our session with a refreshed feeling. I had a feeling of the necessity of caring myself first even amid there are a lot of tough things in the world and a lot of things which I must do. Thanks a lot, to everyone who participated.   AFC’s charm is meeting with researchers whose specialties are not in my field. Although there were many engineering presentations at the panel discussion in which I was a chairman, I could listen to their presentations with full curiosity. I think we could enjoy the conference to some extent online basis though the number of audiences was not so many. I could have a pleasant feeling when I saw their smiles at the closing ceremony. I liked to tell my acquaintances “Hi! How are you?”. But I, as a chairman who should be serious, endured. The conference closed in a livened atmosphere having announced that the next venue is Bangkok.   Frankly speaking, online AFC was lonely a little. But I think it wonderful that we could have the conference under the situation of Covid-19. I am looking forward to seeing them again in Bangkok. Let’s toast!     SGRA Kawaraban 724 in Japanese (Original)     DALE Sonja / 2012 Raccoon, Independent researcher (specialize in gender sexuality, process for social minority and its exclusion)       Translated by Kazuo Kawamura English checked by Sabina Koirala

I participated as a reporter at Round Table Talks II of Asia Future Conference under the title “Community and Global Capitalism - After all, the world is small!” I was invited by Ms. Imanishi, Executive Director of Atsumi International Foundation and Professor F. Maquito. I had a feeling that I came back to my student life after twenty years. As I have been putting my effort into hotel management and tourist business in Myanmar, I talked under the title “Tourist business and development of a community in Myanmar”. I reported on the development of the tourist business in Myanmar and I took action after the pandemic and the change of government.    In Myanmar, almost all the hotels were forced to close by COVID-19. But some of them began reopening on the condition of certification by the Health and Safety Protocol (HSP). This protocol is based on the rule of the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) which was made by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Tourism. It became necessary for the  hotel side to make various preparations against COVID-19 and train and teach their staff members about COVID-19. Furthermore, they had to educate community people about tourism. There are three certificates by the Ministry of Tourism. Regional Level HSP, National Level HSP and International Level HSP. It will be difficult for hotels which will reopen hereafter without National Level HSP. I, as one of such leaders, have a responsible feeling of training and dissemination.   In safe tourist areas, the number of domestic tourists increased. As the Government reopened visa applications online basis, the number of foreign tourists and businesspeople increased also. However, problems are piling up. For example, price increases, runup of international fuel prices and domestic currency fluctuation are very influential. In such circumstances, I made my presentation implying that I have been working hard every day expecting the development of people and communities which participate in tourism. They developed tourism resources such as the nature or history of Myanmar’s “Asian Paradice” cleverly.   After my presentation, I enjoyed discussing with other presenters from many countries forgetting the time under the wonderful presider of the roundtable conference, Professor F. Maquito.           Recently, we had meetings or conferences a lot with people concerned about Myanmar tourism. I think the academic and international meetings of this type has been conducted for the first time in twenty years and I felt rejuvenated.   I hope I could do my best for peaceful earth and better communities.   Recently civil life in Myanmar has changed a lot not only by COVID-19 but regime changes which drew worldwide attention also. The security issue, however, is not for the whole country but for a limited area. In tourism areas, the economy has already recovered from an increase in domestic tourists.   Regime change is a domestic issue. It is necessary for people to think for themselves and take their actions considering their own everyday lives. Seeking freedom should be based on their thinking despite there being a gap in their levels. It is the most important for them to live thinking their daily lives. If there would not freedom in Myanmar, I could not participate in this online conference.     SGRA Kawaraban 723 in Japanese (Original)     Khin Maung Htwe / Founder of “Hotel AKIMOKU” (it is highly evaluated as “Little Japanese Village”) in Myanmar, Research Assistant of Faculty of Science and Engineering Waseda University     Translated by Kazuo Kawamura English checked by Sabina Koirala

The 6th Asia Future Conference has been scheduled to have at China Culture University in Taipei at the end of August this year. However, the conference was held in a hybrid style due to COVID. Participants gathered at the University and overseas participants who could not come to Taipei joined online basis. I think the Conference was successful because a lot of people from all over the country could participate.   On August 28, the second day of the Conference, we had many subcommittees. Two of them were organized by INAF (Institute for Northeast Asian Future). I, as chief of INAF, made an appeal to staff members of the Institute from the preparatory stage. I told them to use the best of the Institute setting themes on the relations between Northeast Asian countries and Taiwan. These sessions drew attention as unique sessions which could cover their politics, history, economy and industries.      People who have little chance to visit Taiwan applied their entry to the Conference at first. But their wishes were not come true because of COVID.   Under such circumstances, presenters prepared everything using their enormous energy despite of their busyness. They have their own professional fields which had no particular　relation with Taiwan. The numbers of researchers in Japan and Taiwan are very limited due to Taiwan’s special circumstances.   The first special circumstance is that one country was divided into two countries, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China after World War II in 1949. The second circumstance is present in the world. The presence of the People’s Republic of China is large and that of the Republic of China is small. The last is the representation at the United Nations. During the period from the year 1945 to 1970/ October, the Republic of China represented the UN. However, after October 1970, the People’s Republic of China took place and a lot of countries in the world accepted PRC’s condition that “when they conclude diplomatic relations, only PRC represents China” and they broke off diplomatic relations with the Republic of China. I hope the Republic of China can appear in the footlights at INAF sessions.   Part 1: We had three reports and discussions under moderator Mr. Hitosi HIRAKAWA, the Chief Director of INAF   The first report was made by INAF researcher LI Ang, Doctoral Course of University of Tsukuba under the title “Separation of Politics and Economy in political and economic worlds against China”- focusing on Newspaper reports-”. He researched media reports in the 1950s on how private trade was made under the circumstances of no diplomatic relations between China and Japan. He inquired into the ties between Japan and China sharply saying how Japan handled private trades and managed relations with China. It was very interesting. We had a debate being managed by Ms. Kumiko HABA, INAF Director, and Professor at the University of Kanagawa.     The second report was made by Mr. Tomohiko KAWAGUCHI, Director of INAF, under the title “Relations between North Korea - Taiwan and their International Relations”. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) has not communicated with Taiwan which belongs to the democracy bloc because they have close connections with the Soviet Union and China which belong to the Socialist bloc. It is no exaggeration to say their relations are blank. However, Mr. KAWAGUCHI tried his best to gather the best handouts which were made by Korean researchers.   Based on such research, he separated diplomatic relations between North Korea and Taiwan into three terms : the first period “Flexible diplomacy : 1972～1987”, the second period: “Practical diplomacy : 1988～1999” and “Stylization period : 2000～present”. He introduced their diplomatic relations and economic exchanges in each period. His research might be a pioneer work in Japan. The debate was managed by Mr. Mitsuhiro MIMURA, INAF Director, and Chief Researcher of North Korea of ERINA (The Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia).   The third report was made by Professor Andrey BELOV, Fukui Prefectural University under the title “Economic Relations between Russia and Taiwan”. As Taiwan had no diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union or Russia for the same reason mentioned above、there are few pieces of research about their economic exchange. But he found Taiwan had energy and semiconductor trades with those two countries in various materials which he gathered. His works might be one of the pioneer works. Debate on this point was managed by me.   Part 2 ：We had two reports under Director Tomohiko KAWAGUCHI as a moderator and had a debate.   The fourth report was made under the title “Imperial Structure in Eastern Asia and Subaltern states Taiwan and Korea” by Associate Professor Chen Boy, University of Niigata Prefecture.   He is the only researcher who came from Taiwan and specialized in international relations and politics in Eastern Asia. He made a lot of research presentations on the ties between Taiwan and China or Taiwan and Japan. He explained about “Subaltern” first. According to him, it is subordinate relations in economics, socialistic, racial, linguistic and cultural. He explained also the relations between Korea and Taiwan is a typical example of a subaltern state in East Asia. It was very impressive. Debate on it was managed by Tomotetsu SADO, INAF Director.    The last report was done by me under the title “Reorganization of Global Supply Chain in Semiconductor Industry – Hegemony Struggle between America and China、and Taiwan –”. I am not a specialist of semiconductor industry. Trade friction and the hegemony struggle between America and China are increasing now. And, people say, “If you could forestall semiconductors, you would forestall the world”. Under such a situation, I tried to gather and analyze materials as much as possible and tried to make clear the relations between America, China and Taiwan over the development, production and sales of semiconductors. Debate on this subject was managed by Hitoshi HIRAKAWA, Chief Director of INAF.   Following those reports and debates, we had heated discussions. Since we had the 6th Asia Future Conference in Taiwan, we focused on Taiwan at the INAF session. A lot of participants joined online basis because we could give them interesting reports and analyses. I think we could give them a meaningful place to communicate and interact.     SGRA Kawaraban 720 in Japanese (Original)     LI Kotetsu /Chief of INAF, Representative of Team “Concept of Asia”     Translated by Kazuo Kawamura English checked by Sabina Koirala

SGRA Sustainable Shared Growth Seminar 34 Report Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform with Laguna Municipal Treasurers Posted: January 2023 In collaboration with College of Public Affairs and Development of the University of the Philippines Los Baños Seminar Report (Lite Version) (HD Version available on request from editor)