TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) on Monday (Dec. 6) addressed recent comments made by Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger that Taiwan is "unstable."

Chang said Gelsinger’s remarks at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference on Dec. 1 were just an attempt to get more U.S. government subsidies for Intel, according to DigiTimes. The TSMC founder was also skeptical of Gelsinger saying he would be able to restore Intel to its glory days.

Bringing back its former CTO to lead the company could be viewed as Intel’s attempt to regain its manufacturing prowess, DigiTimes cited Chang as saying. However, Gelsinger might not have enough time to reach that goal since he is already 60, and Intel’s mandatory retirement age is 65, Chang said.

During Gelsinger’s speech last week, the Intel CEO said that while pending U.S. legislation to boost semiconductor manufacturing should support TSMC and Samsung, the government should invest more in American companies like Intel, Micron, and Texas Instruments, Nikkei reported.

Gelsinger was referring to the CHIPS Act, which includes US$52 billion earmarked for chipmakers in the U.S. The bill passed the Senate in June but has been stalled in the House of Representatives.

“Taiwan is not a stable place,” Gelsinger claimed, adding that Beijing had sent large numbers of military aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. “Does that make you feel more comfortable or less?”

TSMC’s current chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) last week also downplayed Gelsinger’s remarks, saying that few people think Taiwan is unstable. Liu added that it was unlikely people would believe the Intel CEO’s statements.