In the spring of 2020, a Taiwanese engineer felt “extremely lucky” to be offered a job as a chip designer at Blue Ocean Smart System, an American company based in his hometown Hsinchu, the heart of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. He said the role gave him a chance to work on an ambitious AI-chip design project and a $120,000 salary, doubling the industry average, which would help pay off his two children’s private elementary education. But several months into his new role, the engineer, who was...