Silent hands behind the iPhone

Taiwan companies play a major role in the production not only of Apple's phone but a wide array of communications equipment.
The New York Times

The story "Silent hands behind the iPhone" published July 18, 2007 at 7:02 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[Hoser McMoose]

Taiwan as a middleman

The Taiwanese are really excelling at being the middleman in the production of electronics. They are able to bridge the gap between the business culture of North America and Europe and that of China.

Most of these Taiwanese companies might have their headquarters in Taipei, but the factories are mostly in mainland China. This gives western companies the opportunity to take advantage of the lower labour costs of manufacturing in China without the hassle of dealing directly with the nonsense of the Chinese government and Chinese businesses.

Combine this with the fact that the Taiwanese companies have the capital to invest in new production in mainland China and you've got a recipe for success as a middleman. The danger for them is that the middleman can sometimes get bypassed.

[paulsecic]

nOthin

is made in America. Whats next? An outsourced president sounds
great.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Does it matter where it's made?

China. Taiwan. The Moon.

Does it really matter where it's made if it's not made in the same country as the OEM?

I'm not sure why this is news.

[rocr69]

Not KMT controlled

The KMT has been out of power in Taiwan for quite some time now.
The island is ruled by the DPP.