S1E30: The $1 chip that keeps Taiwan’s tech devices in working order

Feeling peckish? Find out why Taiwan is mad about the “Kuai Kuai” brand of corn snacks.  Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.  Taiwan is the world’s top manufacturer of semiconductors and advanced chips. But here is the super-chip that rules them all: a corn chip snack that is a favourite among Taiwan kids.  Bags of it can be found atop laptops, ATM machines, printers all over the island, even in the offices of engineers in Hsinchu Science Park – home of the island’s semiconductor industry.  In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with ST’s Taiwan correspondent Yip Wai Yee about how these chips became the go-to lucky charms for Taiwan appliances, and the folk traditions and pseudoscience that continue to thrive in the technologically advanced society. Highlights (click/tap above):1:00: Why Kuai Kuai corn chips are so popular in Taiwan2:05: How they “bestow their magical powers” on appliances 4:28: TSMC, the world’s leading semiconductor company, has its own edition of Kuai Kuai chips 5:47: The propensity for Taiwanese to turn to such folk beliefs 8:29 The wrong use of Kuai Kuai chips was believed to have crashed Taiwan’s tax filing system in May 2017 Read Wai Yee’s article here: https://str.sg/6vYn Produced by: Li Xueying ([email protected]), Ernest Luis and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Fa’izah Sani Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: [email protected] Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR  Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x Read Yip Wai Yee's articles: https://str.sg/wFZk  Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover more ST podcast channels: COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts --- Special edition series: True Crimes of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i4Y3  The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.