This issue, in our meager attempt to elevate the general literary level of magazines such as ours, we're pleased to bring you an original poem by Frank Rich, a colleague of some years back. Titled "Didili Doos," this is Frank's take on the current doldrums we find ourselves in. Frank is a veteran of the semi wars and a consultant in the East [fjr@encoreprist. com]. I must, at this point, figuratively raise my hand to stop any future poets from contacting me with their contributions. I think once a year will do. Now, without further ado: The "didili doos" that brought the blues have bled their color through. Soon bottom line and share price expunged of their dread rouge Will stem the tide and quit the slide o' this economic luge. We're three up on the growth curve, For the last six months this year. It's time to gather up our nerve And start fueling up the Lear So join with worthy brethren to raise a fevered pitch, We've all been waiting far too long to scratch this nasty itch. We've got the stuff of heroes in each and every one. Let's gather 'round the corp. fires and drive this "bear" to run. China Hands Can there be any doubt that China is the future home of IC assembly for the world? And where assembly goes, so go the equipment makers-Kulicke & Soffa for one. From the largest (Amkor, ASE) on down, the subs are involved in a feeding frenzy for land area on the mainland. The latest to announce for China is Cirrus Logic [cirrus.com], which plans a Consumer Electronics Design and Appli-cations Center in Shenzhen-close to Hong Kong. And Taiwan-based ChipMOS [chipmos. com.tw] recently broke ground in Shanghai for a new IC test and assembly plant. Shanghai is currently the venue of choice for the majority of subs and appears to offer the best infrastructure for chip assembly, but it's by no means alone in trying to recreate California's Gold Rush of '49. During SEMICON West, Zhu Jinming was a visitor to our booth, and likely to many others.
Zhu is an executive with the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Develop-ment Co. [cssd.com.sg]. Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) is some 80 km west of Shangai, jointly owned by Chinese and Singaporean interests. SIP is soon to be home to a $200 million plant, courtesy of National Semicon-ductor, Santa Clara. Both Fairchild Semi and Philips Semiconductors are also setting up plants for assembly and test here. United Microelectronics Corp. of Taiwan, has been chafing at the bit for several years as it waited for governmental okay to expand to China. With the green light from both governments-Taiwan and mainland China-UMC is setting up a major wafer fab. At its most basic, expansion of assembly and test into China does not seem to be a bad thing for the industry. After all, it's got to expand somewhere. Consider that countries like Hong Kong and Singapore have almost no land available, and their labor rates are high. Even when worker cost is not the main consideration, finding workers not already employed is always tough in those two countries. The main concern from some quarters seems to be that in addition to exporting machines to China-no big deal-we're also exporting some high-level technology-particularly in the wafer fab area. The Quest for Truth Thanks to Dr. Subash Khadpe, president of the Semiconductor Technology Center Inc., [semitech.com] for adding yours truly to his "Quest for Truth" honor roll. Among the luminaries already inducted are Dr. Gerald "Skip" Fehr, OSE-USA and Fred Kulicke, Scott Kulicke and Albert Soffa!
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