Reports indicate that new communities in Arizona, built with the influx of TSMC engineers in mind, have been targeted by thugs, hoodlums, and ne’er-do-wells. Taiwan’s Economic Daily says there were at least two days last month when residents at TSMC Village A and TSMC Village B were disturbed by criminal activity. Popular targets for the criminals appear to be the homes and cars of residents.
TSMC engineers who have been moved to the USA to work in the new Arizona fab have been encouraged to move into new build communities by local building companies who cooperated with the semiconductor giant. However, according to UDN, all is not well at the new ‘TSMC Villages.’ From UDN’s report on the events (machine translation), we have distilled the following chronology for May:
- May 19 – TSMC Village B: Property break-in(s) reported.
- May 26 – TSMC Village A: Seven cars damaged during the evening, some successfully broken into
- Unspecified date – engineers robbed
According to our understanding of the UDN report, the May 19 incident sounds like a person decided to stay illegally at what we presume was a currently unoccupied property.
The events of May 26 are clearer. A video shared by the source shows three teens roaming around at night. These individuals are accused in the copy of breaking into TSMC Village A, then smashing the windows and prying the doors of seven automobiles. It isn’t clear whether the damage was pure vandalism or attempts to steal or loot the cars.
The incidences of Taiwanese engineer robbery haven’t been dated by the source.
These aren’t the most heinous crimes, but they could drain the morale of the new residents. Moreover, many people’s inspiration to relocate is to seek a better life. If residents have uprooted and moved all the way from Taiwan, the post-move dissonance will be understandably greater.
UDN has spoken to several engineers who live at the TSMC Villages, and they seem most angry at the management company for the lack of security in these communities. Residents have apparently been asked to be more vigilant with their homes and property. It is suggested by the report that gated communities in Taiwan are more secure, but admitted that the “relatively desolate” location of the TSMC Villages might make it harder to enclose the community living areas.
TSMC was reportedly already finding it difficult to sign up engineers for its Arizona fabs, so reports of criminality at the TSMC Villages won’t be welcome.
