In 1977, Mark Shepherd returned to Taiwan and met again with K. T. Li, nearly a decade after their first meeting. Taiwan still faced a risk of Chinese invasion, but Shepherd told Li, “We consider this risk to be more than offset by the strength and dynamism of Taiwan’s economy. TI will stay and continue to grow in Taiwan,” he promised. The company still has facilities on the island today. Taiwan, meanwhile, has made itself an irreplaceable partner to Silicon Valley.
