Episode 3- Taiwan: Democracy, Dictatorship, and the Engineer Who Rewired History

What do a failed amphibious invasion, a Soviet-trained dictator, and a quiet semiconductor engineer have in common? The future of the world.

In this episode of Code and Council, Jerry and Rachel trace the unlikely threads that wove Taiwan into the heart of global geopolitics. From Mao’s aborted plans to seize the island in 1949, to Chiang Ching-kuo’s transformation from strongman to reformer, and finally to Morris Chang—the engineer whose rejected career led to the creation of TSMC, the most important company on Earth.

It’s a story of two Chinas, one strait, and a five-nanometer fuse that powers your iPhone, your AI, and maybe even your next war.

Featuring psychological warfare, policy pivot points, and silicon deterrence strategies, this episode unpacks why Taiwan isn’t just a democracy—it’s a bottleneck, a shield, and a single point of failure in the modern world.

Source Material is in the notes, Code and Council strongly encourages our listeners to explore the source material.