With Foxconn’s latest announcement to invite Shang-Yi Chiang, TSMC veteran and former SMIC executive, as the chief strategy officer of its semiconductor group, some in the industry perceive the decision more driven by Foxconn’s need for brand recognition, network expansion and overall strategic guidance, rather than the need for a technological upgrade, especially when there remains a significant gap between TSMC and Foxconn that can be hard to address in the short term.