When the ROC government makes another reasonable move to better protect itself from Beijing, the two most obvious responses are often “Good” and “What took so long?” Now Taipei is going to make it harder to ship advanced AI chips and serves to the People’s Republic by “bringing its rules closer to U.S. restrictions,” according to Economics Minister Kung Ming-hsin (Taiwan News, October 16, 2026).
In a Monday interview with Bloomberg, Kung said the country would add advanced semiconductors and AI servers to its export control list. Unauthorized shipments of restricted equipment could then lead to criminal charges under the Foreign Trade Act, the minister said.
Kung said the changes are part of the commitments under the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, which covers economic cooperation and security. He said some export controls would follow US rules but did not say when the new measures would take effect.
Bloomberg reports:
The US has long restricted Chinese purchases of AI chips from Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., but companies in China have still managed to get their hands on the coveted accelerators through a sophisticated black market. US officials have alleged that billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia hardware has made its way to China over the past few years.
Taiwan currently doesn’t treat unauthorized AI chip exports to China as a crime. While Taiwanese officials warn potential sellers that they may be violating US rules if they ship to China, the only legal recourse through the island’s courts is to charge suspected smugglers with violations of other, existing local laws.
Once the new measures are in place, the controls would be among the strictest measures from President Lai Ching-te’s administration to safeguard Taiwan’s technological and national security interests, as Taipei tests its comfort levels with more assertive policies—and manages pressure from American officials on multiple fronts.
What else should the Republic of China be doing to better protect itself? And that it could do even without being prodded by the United States? Nobody in Taiwan has the excuse that the enemy is very far away or has been very subtle and effective in hiding its hostility and fervent wishes.
