Chinese Semiconductor Factory Crisis: Tens of thousands of wafers scrapped, TSMC Director Out

Chinese Semiconductor Factory. Crisis. Tens of thousands of wafers scrapped. TSMC director out. A restaurant staff member in Chengdu is suspected of putting swill oil from the trash can back into the pot. Li Ziki changed her name and returned to the spotlight after a three-year hiatus, sparking heated discussions. The Chinese semiconductor industry has suffered a heavy blow recently. It is understood that a serious human error occurred at Changshin Storage, a major memory factory in China, resulting in tens of thousands of wafers being scrapped, and disciplinary measures were imposed on the personnel involved, including the factory director who came from TSMC's Shanghai factory. According to Semiconvoice, internal documents from Changshin Storage showed that this human error caused tens of thousands of wafers to be damaged, and the production line suffered significant losses in yield and quality control. Key products could not be delivered on time, damaging the company's reputation in the market. After investigation, the head of the operations center, the director of the Hefei wafer factory, and other senior executives were disciplined. It was reported that the Hefei factory director, who was replaced this time, was formerly the director of TSMC's Songjiang factory in Shanghai. At that time, he led more than 100 people to jump to Changshin, which shocked the industry. Industry insiders said that the current PC, mobile phone, and consumer product markets are facing sluggish demand. If this incident causes inferior products to flow into the market and be sold at low prices, it may further suppress DRAM prices. At present, Changshin Storage has a monthly production capacity of more than 200,000 wafers, and is an important enterprise supported by the mainland government to advance the localization of semiconductors. Its main products include 17nm and 18nm DDR4 and LPDDR4, and recently launched new products such as 12nm DDR5 and LPDDR5X. In addition, due to the US government's suppression of the mainland AI industry, Changshin Storage will also enter the HBM high-bandwidth memory market using HBM2 products to break through the barriers. A restaurant staff member in Chengdu is suspected of putting swill oil from the trash can back into the pot. On the afternoon of November 13th, reports surfaced online that a restaurant staff member in Chengdu used a spoon to transfer soup from the trash can into a pot, with the soup suspected to contain swill oil. A video circulating online showed a staff member from a Longjiang Pig's Feet Rice restaurant on Yidu Avenue in Chengdu, filling a pot with soup taken from a trash can and bringing it back into the store. Many bystanders were at the scene. The restaurant owner told People's Concern that the employee scooped the oil to sell for money, although he was unclear about the specifics. He stated that employees would put waste oil into bottles and sell it alongside other collected oil whenever a buyer was available, earning only a few dozen yuan over several months. He expressed that he didn't know how to reassure customers and swore that the restaurant had never used waste oil. On the afternoon of the 13th, a relative of the restaurant owner told Jimu News that the woman in the video was indeed a restaurant employee. This aunt is usually very frugal. She must have scooped the oil to sell it. She even has transfer records with the person who buys recycled oil. At present, regulatory authorities have sent staff to the restaurant to investigate. A representative of the Chengdu High-Tech Zone Market Supervision Bureau responded to Xinhuanghi reporters, stating they were investigating and addressing the issue. The incident quickly attracted attention online. Netizens questioned, why scoop it if it's not needed? This explanation seems like an attempt to avoid scrutiny. Why swear if there's evidence? He clearly knew that employees were selling waste oil. Other netizens commented, I believe the explanation that employees were collecting and selling waste oil. Older workers often take every opportunity to supplement their income. This reflects the hardships of lower-income people. The store has no incentive to do this, as it's not worth the economic or labor cost, and it risks the family's reputation. If what the owner says is true, then who bought the oil collected from the trash, and where did it end up? Li Ziki changed her name and returned to the spotlight after a three-year hiatus, sparking heated discussions. On November 12th, Li Ziki, a well-known Chinese video blogger, made her comeback after a three-year break, releasing three new videos in succession, which ignited widespread discussion on the internet. Additionally, according to friends of Li Ziki, her ID card name has been changed from Li Jiajia to Li Ziki. Li Ziki's original name was Li Jiajia, while her short video account was under the name Li Ziki. She attracted numerous fans with her Chinese-style short videos and became a prominent figure in China's internet celebrity scene. On November 13th, news about Li Ziki's ID card name change appeared on Weibo's trending list. According to her friends, Li Ziki has officially changed her ID card name from Li Jiajia to Li Ziki, marking that she is now not only the IP of Li Ziki, but also officially assumes the identity of Li Ziki. The day before, Li Ziki released three new videos showcasing lacquerware making, forest cloakroom transformation, and velvet flower crafting. The content continues her previous Chinese aesthetic, featuring beautiful imagery and soothing music, once again impressing netizens. She wrote on her Weibo, This lacquer video is four years late. Lacquer and Qi are homophones. I named this lacquerware with carved and hidden flowers, purple air coming from the east. The unicorn looks back with no worries. I also send this wish to everyone who watches the video. I missed you dearly. Within just a few hours, this video amassed over 100 million views. Li Ziki's last video was posted on July 14th, 2021, after which her updates ceased. On August 30th of that year, she stated on the social platform Oasis that she had called the police early in the morning and responded to netizens' comments that capital is indeed a clever trick, although this comment was quickly deleted. In October that same year, a lawsuit brought to light a conflict between Li Ziki and her agency, Hangzhou Wainian. Public records show that Li Ziki was signed to Hangzhou Wainian and had jointly managed the Li Ziki brand with the company. The ownership structure of this multi-channel network company is highly fragmented and backed by significant investment. According to Chichacha, Wainian has 22 shareholders, including renowned investment firms like MicroVenture Capital, Huaying Capital, Chenhai Capital, and ByteDance, though Li Ziki herself does not hold any shares. In December 2022, Wainian issued a settlement statement announcing a resolution with Li Ziki. However, despite the settlement, Li Ziki did not release any new videos for over a year, only occasionally appearing at official events. During this break, official sources reported that Li Ziki had been studying and mastering various traditional crafts. According to the Tianyancha app, Li Ziki now has three companies under her name, including Sichuan Ziki Culture Communication Co., Leltadidi, where she holds a 99% share. Records show that from December last year to January this year, Hangzhou Wainian and its founder Liu Tongming withdrew as shareholders, allowing Li Ziki to regain control of the company and increase her shareholding from 49% to 99%. Intellectual property records indicate that Hangzhou Wainian has transferred several Li Ziki and Ziki trademarks, all of which were assigned to Sichuan Ziki Cultural Communication Co. P., Lentid. Currently, the remaining trademarks under Hangzhou Wainian with the name Li Ziki and Ziki are all inactive. Wainian told the media on November 12th that Li Ziki is no longer collaborating with Wainian, but Li Ziki-branded products remain under Wainian's management. After her comeback, Li Ziki has gained over 27 million fans on Weibo and more than 20 million followers on YouTube. Many online commentators suggest that her resurgence and popularity have the backing of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP. Her video production quality reflects the work of a highly professional team, a capability beyond the reach of typical video bloggers. Furthermore, Li Ziki holds several official titles, such as China Rural Youth Wealth Leader Promotion Ambassador and China Farmers Harvest Festival Promotion Ambassador. In 2019, she was honored with the Annual Cultural Communication Person Award and has received repeated praise and support from media outlets like CCTV and People's Daily. On November 13th, a day after her return, Li Ziki gave an exclusive interview to the official media program New Dialogue, the CCP's use of internet influencers to expand propaganda abroad. Veteran media figure Tang Hao discussed on his channel World Crossroads that Li Ziki is often seen as part of the CCP's foreign propaganda efforts. Although YouTube is banned in China, channels like Li Ziki's are able to operate freely due to support from multi-channel network companies. These companies produce videos that meet the CCP's messaging goals, generating revenue from international audiences while sharing the positive narratives the CCP wants to promote. Tang Hao believes that while influencers like Li Ziki may not have been created as propaganda initially, they eventually attracted official backing. These videos, featuring traditional Chinese culture and idyllic lifestyle scenes, subtly cultivate foreign viewers' admiration for China. He stated that the CCP aims to borrow a boat to sail abroad through such influencer videos, subtly countering the CCP threat theory overseas. This approach uses the soft power of Chinese culture to reduce suspicion of the CCP and foster the perception that China is not synonymous with the CCP.