Taiwan Economy: Taiwan’s GDP grew 13.72% in H1 2026, its strongest first-half pace in 50 years, with Q2 growth easing to 12.92% as private investment and consumption beat expectations, helped by the AI boom, a rebound in auto sales, and a “wealth effect” from record stock market turnover. Semiconductors & Markets: Chip momentum also drove broader risk-on trading as South Korea’s KOSPI surged on record gains and Taiwan’s TSMC jumped about 10%, reinforcing the AI trade narrative even as semiconductor stocks elsewhere saw sharp swings. AI Chip Supply Chain: A key bottleneck is advanced packaging capacity: TSMC’s advanced packaging lines are booked through 2027, while Intel is pushing EMIB-based alternatives to win major AI chip packaging orders. Government & Policy: Taiwan still lacks legislation to update gender markers on ID documents, despite years of study and court rulings, leaving transgender applicants reliant on administrative rules. Defense Tech: Shield AI and Thunder Tiger completed a maritime autonomous teaming demo in Pingtung, validating multi-asset ISR coordination using radar and AIS data. Business & Finance: MediaTek approved a $5 billion discretionary financing plan to expand into custom AI data-center chips, targeting a larger share of the custom AI ASIC market and expecting data-center AI chip revenue to exceed $2 billion in 2026. Global Watch: The US expanded its CHIPS Act investment portfolio with minority equity stakes for seven semiconductor-related companies, signaling deeper government involvement in advanced computing supply chains.