{"id":28380,"date":"2024-07-10T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=28380"},"modified":"2026-04-05T10:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:28:10","slug":"mong-song-liang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/","title":{"rendered":"Mong-Song Liang, the hero of SMIC\u2019s breakthrough in US blockade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A reminder: please read my post of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/03\/08\/smic-after-us-embargo\/\">How is SMIC after US embargo?<\/a>&#8221; and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/07\/30\/two-long-term-threats-to-tsmc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Two long-term threats to TSMC: US and SMIC<\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Mong-Song_Liangs_background\" >Mong-Song Liang&#8217;s background<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Experience_before_his_TSMC_day\" >Experience before his TSMC day<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Working_at_TSMC\" >Working at TSMC<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#TSMC_shakes_off_IBM\" >TSMC shakes off IBM<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Leave_TSMC\" >Leave TSMC<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Liang_proved_he_is_capable\" >Liang proved he is capable<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Biggest_contributor_of_Samsungs_14nm\" >Biggest contributor of Samsung&#8217;s 14nm<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#TSMC_sues_Liang_Meng-Song\" >TSMC sues Liang Meng-Song<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#What_about_Mark_Liu\" >What about Mark Liu?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#US_has_banned_non-compete_agreements\" >US has banned non-compete agreements<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Liang_join_SMIC\" >Liang join SMIC<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#As_co-CEO\" >As co-CEO<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Improved_14nms_yield\" >Improved 14nm&#8217;s yield<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Developed_7nm_process\" >Developed 7nm process<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#5nm_have_been_successfully_pilot-produced\" >5nm have been successfully pilot-produced<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#3nm_is_on_the_way\" >3nm is on the way<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Top_three_wafer_foundries_in_the_first_quarter_of_2024\" >Top three wafer foundries in the first quarter of 2024<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Taiwans_denial_of_Mong-Song_Liang\" >Taiwan\u2019s denial of Mong-Song Liang<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Mong-Song_Liangs_career_path\" >Mong-Song Liang&#8217;s career path<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Changing_jobs_is_an_employees_right\" >Changing jobs is an employee\u2019s right<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Morris_Chang_did_so\" >Morris Chang did so<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Abnormal_position\" >Abnormal position<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Its_a_ridiculous_ideology_issue\" >It&#8217;s a ridiculous ideology issue<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Taiwaneses_biased_stance_towards_TSMC\" >Taiwanese\u2019s biased stance towards TSMC<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-25\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Fawn_upon_the_rich_and_powerful_persons\" >Fawn upon the rich and powerful persons<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-26\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Closing_words\" >Closing words<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-27\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mong-Song_Liangs_background\"><\/span>Mong-Song Liang&#8217;s background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Experience_before_his_TSMC_day\"><\/span>Experience before his TSMC day<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mong-Song Liang received his bachelor&#8217;s and master&#8217;s degrees from the Department of Electrical Engineering of National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, and later studied under Chenming Calvin Hu at the University of California, Berkeley. After receiving his doctorate in electrical engineering, Mong-Song Liang was elected as an academician of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) like his mentor. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After graduation, he worked in memory-related work at AMD (ticker: AMD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Working_at_TSMC\"><\/span>Working at TSMC<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>He returned to Taiwan in 1992 to join TSMC, and was eventually promoted to senior R&amp;D director. He was the inventor of nearly 500 TSMC patents. TSMC defeated IBM with its own technology. Among the TSMC R&amp;D teams commended by the Executive Yuan of Taiwan, Mong-Song Liang, who was responsible for the 130-nanometer &#8220;copper process&#8221; advanced module at the time, ranked second in contribution, second only to his boss, Senior Vice President of R&amp;D Shang-yi Chiang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TSMC_shakes_off_IBM\"><\/span>TSMC shakes off IBM<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>TSMC\u2019s early technologies were all licensed from IBM (ticker: IBM), and its independent capabilities were poor. In 2003, IBM hoped to sell its newly developed copper process technology to TSMC. But Morris Chang wanted to put an end to IBM&#8217;s technology, and believed that IBM&#8217;s technology was immature, so it was better to do it himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The person who led the research and development team was Shang-yi Chiang. More than a year later, TSMC took the lead in making a breakthrough in its copper process, and six people played a core role: Douglas C.H. Yu, Mong-Song Liang, Jack Sun, Shang-yi Chiang, Konrad Young, and Burn Lin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Leave_TSMC\"><\/span>Leave TSMC<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In February 2009, Mong-Song Liang left TSMC and went to National Tsinghua University as a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Institute of Electronics. He left for South Korea more than half a year later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Liang_proved_he_is_capable\"><\/span>Liang proved he is capable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After Mong-Song Liang left TSMC, he went to Samsung. Now he is at SMIC, and he has proven to the world that he has this ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Biggest_contributor_of_Samsungs_14nm\"><\/span>Biggest contributor of Samsung&#8217;s 14nm <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In July 2011, Mong-Song Liangg went to Samsung as the VP of R&amp;D. At that time, Samsung was stuck in the technical bottleneck of switching from the 28nm process to the 20nm process. Mong-Song Liang advocated abandoning the 20nm process and directly upgrading to the 14nm process. The results were great. was successful; in the end, Samsung&#8217;s 14nm process was mass-produced half a year earlier than TSMC, and TSMC launched a 16nm process at that time, which helped Samsung win orders for Apple A9 and Qualcomm from TSMC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TSMC_sues_Liang_Meng-Song\"><\/span>TSMC sues Liang Meng-Song<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>TSMC\u2019s lawsuit against Mong-Song Liang for infringing business secrets was lost in the first instance but won in the second instance. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled that Mong-Song Liang could not continue to provide services to Samsung in any way. This case was the first time in Taiwan\u2019s history that a senior corporate executive was restricted from expiring after the non-compete period. are still prohibited from working for a competitor company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Please note<\/strong>: Mong-Song Liang&#8217;s move to Samsung came after the non-compete period &#8220;ended&#8221;, that is, after there were no contractual restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_about_Mark_Liu\"><\/span>What about Mark Liu?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p> In February 2025, the media revealed TSMC\u2019s former chairman Mark Liu for retiring in 2024. <a href=\"https:\/\/focustaiwan.tw\/sci-tech\/202502180005\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to a press release from the University of California, Berkeley, Mark Liu officially established the &#8220;Technology Competitiveness and Industrial Policy Center&#8221; (TCIP) at the university, aiming to enhance the competitiveness of the United States in advanced technology research and development and manufacturing<\/a>. Please note that it is the United States, not Taiwan Mark Liu want to improve the advanced technology R&amp;D and manufacturing competitiveness. Think about why TSMC sued Liang Mengsong back then? What about Mark Liu? However, he just resigned last year. Mark Liu&#8217;s position was chairman, and he knew far more TSMC secrets than Mong-Song Liang. What we call it is the two sets of standards? This is a real example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"US_has_banned_non-compete_agreements\"><\/span>US has banned non-compete agreements<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission stated that non-competition constitutes an &#8220;unfair method of competition&#8221;; therefore, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2024\/04\/ftc-announces-rule-banning-noncompetes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted in April 2024 to ban non-compete agreements by a vote of 3 to 2 to crack down on those that would restrict A contract under which an employee resigns and moves to a new employer.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The passage of this bill is tantamount to opposing this type of contract, which restricts the employment rights of workers and prohibits them from working for competitors of the original employer or establishing competitive enterprises for a period of time after leaving the job or in a specific area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Liang_join_SMIC\"><\/span>Liang join SMIC<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"As_co-CEO\"><\/span>As co-CEO<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2017, Mong-Song Liang joined SMIC(ticker: SIUIF) as co-CEO president and executive director. After Mong-Song Liang joined, SMIC&#8217;s 28nm process yield rate began to improve. However, due to too late success in development and missed the opportunity for mass production, he decided to skip the next generation 22nm process and switch to mass production of 14nm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Improved_14nms_yield\"><\/span>Improved 14nm&#8217;s yield<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mong-Song Liang significantly improved the 14nm process yield rate from 3% to more than 95% within 298 days, making SMIC the sixth largest manufacturer in the world after TSMC, UMC, Samsung, Global Foundry and Intel; it has also become the fifth company in the world that can manufacture 12 nanometer processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Developed_7nm_process\"><\/span>Developed 7nm process<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After perfecting the 28nm and 14nm processes, Mong-Song Liang even assisted SMIC to successfully develop it in 2023 under the U.S. embargo and curb from many parties. SMIC did not have ASML\u2019s EUV, which most people thought was impossible. SMIC finally came out of 7nm process chip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Nikkei&#8221; previously reported that Shimizu Yoji, president of semiconductor research company TechanaLye, said that SMIC&#8217;s strength is only three years behind TSMC. In particular, SMIC uses 7nm technology, but it has the same performance as TSMC&#8217;s 5nm technology, which represents mainland China&#8217;s semiconductor design capabilities have been further improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-ff7be9af-19b0-4c12-aa38-219e5eb6a099\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5nm_have_been_successfully_pilot-produced\"><\/span>5nm have been successfully pilot-produced<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-d47550b2-8bf9-4dae-b549-5b60d168c408\">Recently, the market has heard that Huawei and SMIC have teamed up to develop a 5nm process using multiple patterning and achieved a breakthrough. SMIC has successfully launched a 5nm process without the difficulties of ASML&#8217;s EUV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-546e9981-b918-4b80-b0e6-caa653bab848\">It is estimated that the production cost of SMIC&#8217;s 5nm chips is 50% more expensive than TSMC&#8217;s 5nm using EUV. Wccftech reported that SMIC will complete the development of its 5nm process technology in 2025, but because it can only rely on deep ultraviolet (DUV) equipment, the current yield is estimated 33%, to be only 1\/3 of TSMC&#8217;s yield on the same technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3nm_is_on_the_way\"><\/span>3nm is on the way<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomshardware.com\/tech-industry\/huawei-patent-reveals-3nm-class-process-technology-plans-china-continues-to-move-forward-despite-us-sanctions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The American &#8220;Tom&#8217;s Hardware&#8221; magazine has pointed out that SMIC and Huawei have applied for patents for the 3nm process using DUV and multiple patterning<\/a>. It is reasonable to infer that SMIC has already developed the technology of the 3nm process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: Huawei plans to launch AI chips using the 5nm process in 2025. The foundries of Huawei is SMIC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: SMIC is one of two TSMC&#8217;s real threat in long term, please see my post of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/07\/30\/two-long-term-threats-to-tsmc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Two long-term threats to TSMC: US and SMIC<\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trendforce.com\/news\/2024\/10\/24\/news-asml-ceo-china-might-be-able-to-produce-5nm-and-3nm-chips-amid-u-s-export-restrictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">When announcing the third quarter financial report of 2024, Christophe Fouquet, CEO of ASML, said that mainland Chinese companies have the potential to produce 5-nanometer and 3-nanometer wafers on their own, but only because there is no EUV, they can only use DUV, resulting in possible limitations in output and yield.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Top_three_wafer_foundries_in_the_first_quarter_of_2024\"><\/span>Top three wafer foundries in the first quarter of 2024<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to a survey released by TrendForce on June 12, the output value of the world&#8217;s top 10 wafer foundries in the first quarter of 2024 was US$29.2 billion, a quarterly decrease of 4.3%. Among them, top 3 are below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>TSMC\u2019s revenue fell by approximately 4.1% quarterly to US$18.85 billion, with a market share of 61.7%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Samsung&#8217;s revenue fell 7.2% quarterly to US$3.36 billion, and its market share dropped to 11%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SMIC&#8217;s revenue increased by 4.3% quarterly to US$1.75 billion, outperforming its peers. With a market share of 5.7%, SMIC surpassed GlobalFoundries and UMC and jumped to third place.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is worth mentioning that SMIC\u2019s ranking has risen to third place, narrowing the gap with Samsung. Samsung\u2019s market share has been between 15-17% in the past few years. This trend also confirms my point in my post three years ago &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/07\/30\/two-long-term-threats-to-tsmc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Two long-term threats to TSMC: US and SMIC<\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Taiwans_denial_of_Mong-Song_Liang\"><\/span>Taiwan\u2019s denial of Mong-Song Liang<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mong-Song_Liangs_career_path\"><\/span>Mong-Song Liang&#8217;s career path<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost all Taiwan\u2019s media circles label Mong-Song Liang a traitor, which I really disagree with. Mong-Song Liang just wanted to find another job because he was born in TSMC, and his future development at TSMC was not smooth. He found a company that suited him and could use his talents to prove his abilities and pursue his dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: If there are no traitors, so there are no many famous top companies in today\u2019s semiconductor industry. For details, see my post of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/06\/24\/traitorous-eight\/\">Traitorous Eight, the origin of the semiconductor and venture capital industries<\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changing_jobs_is_an_employees_right\"><\/span>Changing jobs is an employee\u2019s right<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What did Mong-Song Liang do wrong? Isn\u2019t this practice normal in industry and the workplace? Isn&#8217;t this true all over the world? Can Taiwan kill all the criminals and almost turn Mong-Song Liang into an evil and ungrateful villain? To put it bluntly, this is just because the Taiwanese people have two sets of standards and a glassy heart. They cannot accept that Mong-Song Liang has taken refuge in TSMC&#8217;s opponents, and are dissatisfied with allowing TSMC&#8217;s opponents to achieve technological breakthroughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Morris_Chang_did_so\"><\/span>Morris Chang did so<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Just imagine, Morris Chang left Texas Instruments because he encountered difficulties in his career development at Texas Instruments. It happened that the Taiwan government also needed to establish the semiconductor industry at that time. The Taiwan government funded and assisted Morris Chang in establishing TSMC, allowing Morris Chang to find his own stage and leave his name. I can\u2019t figure out what the difference is. It\u2019s just Taiwanese people\u2019s own sour grapes, damaged self-confidence, coupled with the small country and few people, narrow-mindedness, and the mentality of feeling good about themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For details about the feud between Morris Chang and Mong-Song Liang, please see my post of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/12\/28\/morris-changs-controversial\/\">TSMC Morris Chang&#8217;s controversial words and deeds<\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Abnormal_position\"><\/span>Abnormal position<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_a_ridiculous_ideology_issue\"><\/span>It&#8217;s a ridiculous ideology issue<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask yourself, don\u2019t go against your own conscience, if you are honest enough with yourself: What did Mong-Song Liang do wrong? What if you were Mong-Song Liang? What if Mong-Song Liang initially worked for an American or Japanese company instead of TSMC? What if Mong-Song Liang changed jobs not to SMIC but to an American or Japanese company? Would the answers from his critics have been different? This is a question of right and wrong and logic that even children understand. The investment market and the workplace are about strength, not ideology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using the same logic, do the millions of people working in mainland China also have problems? Is it possible that all these millions of people should be prosecuted? If Mong-Song Liang worked for an American or Japanese businessman, would Taiwan dare to say anything?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is not Mong-Song Liang, but the prejudiced people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Taiwaneses_biased_stance_towards_TSMC\"><\/span>Taiwanese\u2019s biased stance towards TSMC<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In Taiwan, TSMC has become a restricted area for comment. Any negative or unfavorable remarks about TSMC will be severely attacked, different opion nowt allowed, even if the comments are factual. You can only speak positively about TSMC, otherwise you will be counterattacked from all corners of the world\u2500\u2500just because TSMC is the only company has strong competitiveness in Taiwan (it is true that TSMC has strong competitiveness) that Taiwanese can overboast, this is unacceptable Tell the secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The majority of Taiwanese people&#8217;s &#8220;Boxers&#8221;, double standard, brainwashing by the media, internal propaganda, pretentiousness, a frog in the well (a person with a limited outlook), with narrow mineded, ostrich mentality cannot change the true achievements of others and prevent others from progressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is: most Taiwanese people feel good about themselves and do not think that their positions are biased&#8211;this is the biggest problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fawn_upon_the_rich_and_powerful_persons\"><\/span>Fawn upon the rich and powerful persons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Didn\u2019t you see that American Jensen Huang and Lisa Su were interviewed by thousands of media reportors when they visited Taiwan in the past two years? The Taiwanese media portrayed the two as&#8221;the glory of Taiwan&#8221;. The reports on the two were more than detailed. During these two visisted Taiwan, they almost always on the headlines of Taiwanese media, as if there is nothing else to report in Taiwan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what, these two people were born in Taiwan. Nvidia and AMD are American not Taiwanese companies. These two are now Americans! The performance of the Taiwanese media is completely to try to gain popularity, add icing on the cake, and Fawn upon the rich and powerful persons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like now, some people have seen that SMIC has been creating advanced process chip. People immediately put their faces to it and said, &#8220;It&#8217;s all credit of  Taiwanese Mong-Song Liang, but China doesn&#8217;t have that capability!&#8221; In the future, Taiwanese might be pround of Mong-Song Liang again. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Mong-Song Liang will be called the &#8220;the glory of Taiwan&#8221; then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is snobbery?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Closing_words\"><\/span>Closing words<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>History will give Mong-Song Liang a fair justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"134\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Liang-Custom.jpg\" alt=\"Mong-Song Liang\" class=\"wp-image-28432\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">credit: South China Post<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/04\/04\/skywater-3d-chip-us-foundry\/\">SkyWater, 3D chip leader and the only pure-play US chip foundry<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/09\/10\/chip-war-talk-about\/\">What does book &#8220;Chip War&#8221; talk about?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/04\/13\/china-mature-process\/\">China is monopolizing world&#8217;s chip mature process<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/05\/05\/semiconductor-to-taiwan\/\">How important is semiconductor industry to Taiwan?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/03\/08\/smic-after-us-embargo\/\">How is SMIC after US embargo?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/07\/30\/two-long-term-threats-to-tsmc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Two long-term threats to TSMC: US and SMIC<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/10\/mong-song-liang\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mong-Song Liang, the hero of SMIC\u2019s breakthrough in US blockade<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/16\/why-was-asml-founded\/\">Why was ASML founded?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/06\/tsmc-originally-founded\/\">How was TSMC originally founded? Not by Morris Chang<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/12\/28\/morris-changs-controversial\/\">TSMC Morris Chang&#8217;s controversial words and deeds<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/06\/24\/traitorous-eight\/\">Traitorous Eight, the origin of the semiconductor and venture capital industries<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/01\/09\/tsmc-valuation\/\">Why is TSMC valuation much lower than US peers?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/11\/30\/tsmc-negative-corp-culture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TSMC negative toxic corp culture and management style are detrimental to its future and growth<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/04\/06\/artificial-intelligence-listed-companies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top five lucrative artificial lucrative intelligence listed companies<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/04\/01\/tsmc-dcf-value\/\">What&#8217;s TSMC DCF intrinsic value?How to calculate it quickly with a free tool?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/10\/01\/how-many-fab-does-tsmc-have\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How many fabs and houses does TSMC have currently and in the future?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/13\/yield-rate-comparison\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yield rate comparison of SMIC, Rapidus, TSMC, Samsung, Intel&#8217;s advanced process<\/a>&#8221; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/04\/29\/cost-of-chip-foundry\/\">The TSMC cost, sell price, and R&amp;D cost of chip foundry<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/01\/15\/asml-who-really-caught-tsmcs-neck\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ASML, who dominate TSMC\u2019s fate<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/12\/28\/tsmc-process-roadmap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Comparison of SMIC, Rapidus, TSMC, Intel, and Samsung\u2019s new process roadmaps for future chips<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/06\/30\/tsmcs-profit-margin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why is TSMC\u2019s profit margin much greater than competitors?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/08\/13\/how-does-tsmc-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does TSMC make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/11\/02\/zyvex\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zyvex and sub-nanometer semiconductor processes, will Zyvex threat TSMC?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/01\/28\/tsmc-serious-crises\/\">TSMC gets emerging&nbsp;and serious challenges<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/08\/25\/how-does-micron-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does Micron make money? What investors should know?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/06\/18\/chip-replaced-software\/#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Semiconductor replaced software and become investors&#8217; darling<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The lucrative semiconductor supply chain<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/01\/25\/global-semiconductor-chip-market-in-detail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global semiconductor chip market in detail, big dominators and markets<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/07\/semiconductor-investment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">6 common wrong semiconductor investment myths<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/23\/3rd-gen-semiconductor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gen 3 semiconductor<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Almost all Taiwan\u2019s media circles label Mong-Song Liang a traitor, which I really disagree with. History will give Mong-Song Liang a fair justice. He is the biggest contributor of Samsung&#8217;s 14nm, SMIC&#8217;s 20nm, 14nm, 7nm, 5nm and beyond<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,222,224,110,735],"tags":[348,168,1306,377,1345,376,260,38],"class_list":["post-28380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity","category-ceo","category-employee","category-semiconductor","category-trade-secrets","tag-amd","tag-ibm","tag-ieee","tag-samsung","tag-siuif","tag-smic","tag-tsm","tag-txn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28380"}],"version-history":[{"count":98,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41566,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28380\/revisions\/41566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}