Silent Despite Remarks Crossing the 'Red Line'
Netizens Call for Strong Boycott
Analysis Shows No Practical Benefit in Raising Issues
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, who visited Taiwan, stated that "Taiwan is a country," but unusually, China has remained silent.
According to Taiwan's Central News Agency on the 4th, Jensen Huang visited Taiwan to attend Computex 2024, an international computer show held in Taipei starting that day. Although Jensen Huang's remarks have been circulated on Chinese social media, prompting some netizens to call for a boycott of Nvidia products and sparking strong backlash, Chinese media have not mentioned the issue.
On the 29th, Jensen Huang visited a night market in Taipei and was asked an impromptu question about the "importance of Taiwan," to which he replied, "Taiwan, at the center of the electronics industry, is one of the most important countries in the world." Additionally, two days before the opening of Computex 2024 on the 2nd, he delivered a keynote speech at the National Taiwan University Gymnasium in Taipei, emphasizing that "Taiwan and our partnership have built the world's artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure," and even displayed a world map showing Taiwan and China in different colors on the screen.
From China's perspective, which asserts the "One China" policy that Taiwan is part of China, Jensen Huang's actions crossed the so-called "red line." However, Chinese media have not reported on his remarks related to Taiwan. This contrasts with past instances when Chinese President Lai Ching-te or famous celebrities made statements about Taiwan as an independent country, which were heavily criticized.
The reason for the Chinese media's silence is interpreted as a judgment that reporting on Jensen Huang's remarks would bring no benefit. It is speculated that raising the issue would only spread a sensitive topic widely without any appropriate response measures. Furthermore, with U.S. government sanctions limiting Nvidia's exports to China, there is a view that there is no advantage in making a fuss over the "Taiwan is a country" statement.
As Jensen Huang's remarks spread on Chinese social media, some hardline netizens demanded, "I hope the motherland takes action," "All sales of Nvidia products should be banned within China," and "Employees of the company should be barred from entering China," calling for a strong nationwide boycott. However, some expressed resigned reactions such as, "If we boycott Nvidia products, can we even find alternatives from other companies?" "If Nvidia products are removed from computers, we can't play games," and "If we endure it, it will pass."
Jensen Huang was born in 1963 in Tainan, southern Taiwan, and is a Taiwanese-American who immigrated to the United States at the age of nine.
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