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Important figures: Morris Chang (張忠謀), born July 10, 1931, is universally regarded as the father of Taiwan's semiconductor industry. After a successful career at Texas Instruments, he was invited by the Taiwanese government in the 1980s to help develop the country's high-tech sector. In 1987, he founded TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), pioneering the "pure-play foundry" model—manufacturing chips for clients without designing them—an idea that revolutionized the global semiconductor industry. His leadership transformed TSMC into a global giant and made Taiwan central to the global tech supply chain. Mark Liu (劉德音), born around 1955, is the current Chairman of TSMC. He joined the company in 1993 and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming Co-CEO before assuming the chairmanship in 2018. With a PhD from UC Berkeley, Liu has played a key role in TSMC's global expansion, including the development of overseas fabs in the U.S., Japan, and Europe, reinforcing Taiwan’s strategic position in global technology. C.C. Wei (魏哲家), born in 1953, is the current CEO of TSMC and has been instrumental in leading the company’s technological development and advanced manufacturing processes. With a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Yale, Wei has overseen TSMC’s continued leadership in cutting-edge chip nodes like 7nm, 5nm, and 3nm, working closely with major clients such as Apple and AMD. Pan Wen-yuan (潘文淵), born August 8, 1912, and died September 28, 1995, was a semiconductor engineer at RCA who played a critical advisory role in Taiwan’s early tech development. He facilitated the pivotal technology transfer agreement between RCA and Taiwan’s ITRI in the 1970s, allowing Taiwanese engineers to gain firsthand semiconductor knowledge and kickstarting local chip manufacturing capabilities. Due to these individuals, Taiwan transformed from an agrarian island into the beating heart of the global semiconductor industry.