On August 14, a delegation of nine senior staffers from both chambers of the U.S. Congress visited the Taiwan-based think tank DSET to exchange views on Taiwan’s energy resilience, disinformation challenges, and the semiconductor and UAV supply chains.
DSET CEO Dr. Jeremy Chih-Cheng Chang welcomed the delegation and addressed questions regarding semiconductor supply chain resilience. He noted that recent U.S. export controls have primarily targeted China’s advanced process development — an area that has drawn most of the public attention. However, DSET’s Economic Security Research has highlighted in its policy studies “A Hundred Flowers Bloom: Local Competition and China’s Expansion of Chip Capacity” and “The Encirclement: China’s Strategy for Dominating Mature-Node Chips” that Taiwan, as a leading global producer of mature-node chips, now faces the risk of being overtaken by China’s rapidly expanding capacity fueled by market-distorting state subsidies. This shift could occur within one to two years, potentially creating a supply dependence risk for the U.S. and its allies in both electronics and weapons systems.
On energy security, DSET Energy Resilience Research Director Dr. Tsaiying Lu recommended that Taiwan continue expanding installed capacity for renewable energy, coal, and natural gas power generation — the sources most easily regulated in emergency scenarios. The team also stressed the importance of U.S. and allied cooperation in contingency planning for a Taiwan Strait blockade scenario.
On supply chain security, DSET’s National Security Research presented findings from its report “Drones for Democracy: U.S.-Taiwan Cooperation in Building a Resilient and China-Free UAV Supply Chain.” The report outlines Taiwan’s comprehensive government ban on procuring Chinese-made drones and its active pursuit of collaboration with the U.S. and other democratic partners to strengthen domestic production, reduce costs, and minimize reliance on Chinese components.
The delegation and DSET also discussed the growing influence of China’s AI-generated disinformation targeting audiences in both Taiwan and the United States. DSET shared key insights from its Democracy Governance Research reports “Generative AI and Democracy” and “Resilience Through Truth: Taiwan’s Public-Private Collaboration Against Disinformation,” noting that manipulative content often blends factual information with distortions to undermine social trust. Civil society organizations (CSOs), with their agility and rapid response capabilities, play an essential role in fact-checking and media literacy education, yet continue to face resource constraints. DSET recommended that the government strengthen public-private partnerships and adopt “prebunking” strategies to boost societal resilience.
Delegation members included senior staff from key offices across both the Democratic and Republican parties in the House:
- Nick Hawatmeh – Chief of Staff, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), House Republican Conference Chair
- Michael Curcio – Chief of Staff, Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN)
- Jason Fischer – Chief of Staff, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL)
- Christopher Hall – Chief of Staff, Rep. John McGuire (R-VA)
- Keith Roachford – Chief of Staff, Rep. Herb Conaway (D-NJ)
- Blakely Wall – Chief of Staff, Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR)
- Zach Weidlich – Chief of Staff, Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX)
- Shane Wolfe – Chief of Staff, Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI)
- Jared Evans – Chief of Staff, Rep. Cleo Fields (D-LA)