Hsinchu, Taiwan – A crane bird flies across a silent rice paddy, the water slowly trickling in the background. It is a tranquil and stereotypical image of an East-Asian countryside. Little seems to suggest I am just a few kilometres removed from one of the hearts of the global economy.
This is Hsinchu, a small city close to Taipei in Taiwan. It is what you could literally call the Silicon Valley of the world.
