The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have tried to sacrifice the prosperity of Taiwan's semiconductor industry for their own political interests, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing on Wednesday.
Zhu made the remark at a press briefing in response to a media inquiry on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) plan to build Japan's first factory capable of manufacturing 3-nanometer chips in the country's Kumamoto prefecture.
"The DPP authorities see TSMC as a tool to please and show loyalty to the United States and Japan. They are harming the prosperity of Taiwan's semiconductor industry and the people in Taiwan to gain political interests for themselves," said Zhu.
Mainland slams DPP authorities for selling out Taiwan's semiconductor industry for political interests
Global food commodity prices climbed for a second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in report released on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.
According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, up 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.
The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.
The FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.0 percent from the previous month, and the FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.
FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have been driving up agricultural input costs.
If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops, according to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.
These choices will hit future yields and shape food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.
Global food prices rise for 2nd consecutive month in March amid Middle East conflict: FAO
