Taiwanese businesses have called for a law on industrial espionage, especially by China, as growing ties have made it easier for Chinese firms to steal secrets, officials and media said yesterday.
Lee Kun-yao (李焜耀), chairman of the flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), made the appeal while meeting President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) with a group of high-tech entrepreneurs on Wednesday.
The proposal was prompted by a spate of cases involving the theft of business secrets from Taiwan’s high-tech companies, Lee said, without providing details.
“Taiwan really needs such a law now as it faces mounting competition from mainland China,” another official from AU Optronics told reporters.
The idea seemed to be supported by several firms, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).
“Such a law will better help Taiwan’s industry,” TSMC spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun (孫又文) said.
Currently, suspects are indicted on charges such as breach of trust and embezzlement, but Lee said the punishment for such crimes was not enough.
The Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association, which groups the nation’s major electronics firms, also called for a law as early as possible.
TSMC filed a lawsuit against Chinese rival Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯) in the US in 2003, alleging SMIC improperly obtained its trade secrets and infringed patents. In 2005, SMIC agreed to pay TSMC US$175 million to settle the case after the Taiwan chipmaker filed new evidence of corporate espionage with a US court.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on a pressing national issue: The rebranding of a restaurant chain. Last week, Cracker Barrel, a Tennessee company whose nationwide locations lean heavily on a cozy, old-timey aesthetic — “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table” — announced it was updating its logo. Uncle Herschel, the man who once appeared next to the letters with a barrel, was gone. It sparked ire on the right, with Donald Trump Jr leading a charge against the rebranding: “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?!” Later, Trump Sr weighed
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
HEADWINDS: Upfront investment is unavoidable in the merger, but cost savings would materialize over time, TS Financial Holding Co president Welch Lin said TS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控) said it would take about two years before the benefits of its merger with Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) become evident, as the group prioritizes the consolidation of its major subsidiaries. “The group’s priority is to complete the consolidation of different subsidiaries,” Welch Lin (林維俊), president of the nation’s fourth-largest financial conglomerate by assets, told reporters during its first earnings briefing since the merger took effect on July 24. The asset management units are scheduled to merge in November, followed by life insurance in January next year and securities operations in April, Lin said. Banking integration,
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
RSS