Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers yesterday made public what they said was new evidence to help prosecutors investigate the world's No. 2 custom chipmaker, United Mocroelectronics Corp (UMC,
Producing copies of what were described as internal confidential memos from He Jian, TSU caucus whip Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said that high-level Taiwanese officials at He Jian were told by their superiors that they could allow their Taiwanese employees to get access to UMC's database during business hours via a particular IP address.
"That's why 199 of UMC's patented items are used by He Jian, and we're afraid that the improper behavior has jeopardized the rights of UMC shareholders and has contributed to the fall of its shares," Lo said.
The probes of UMC's investments in China weighed heavily on UMC's share price Wednesday. The company's shares fell nearly 1 percent to NT$20.8 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and plunged to NT$19.9 yesterday.
Acting on tip-offs, over 100 Hsinchu and Taipei prosecutors Tuesday raided nine offices and residences relating to the case, including UMC's offices, and the residences of UMC vice chairman John Hsuan (
Lo also lambasted the government's economic strategy of "active opening and effective management" for investments in China.
"The policy has become the biggest lie ever," Lo said. "We're asking prosecutors to thoroughly investigate whether He Jian executive Hsu Chien-hwa (徐建華), a former UMC employee, was attempting to empty out Taiwan's technological resources and channel them to China."
Another TSU lawmaker, Huang Shih-cho (
"We thought the government has been doing a poor job in executing the `effective management' policy," he said.
In addition to calling on the government, national security authorities and prosecutors to thoroughly investigate the case as well as the entire high-tech industry, Huang requested that the government mete out punishment to civil servants failing to fulfill their duties in carrying out the "effective management" strategy.
Lo also requested the government map out foreign investment guidelines for the high-tech industry to follow, and pledged to enact a law to protect high-tech knowhow.
The Executive Yuan sent a draft national technology protection law (國家科技保護法) to the legislature for review in February 2003, but the bill has been bogged down in legislative procedures. Opposition lawmakers, who control the legislature, called the bill "technological martial law."
Branding prosecutors' large-scale raid as "inappropriate," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Ker Chien-ming (
"I'd like to believe that UMC and He Jian are simply two friendly companies striving to cooperate with each other in a highly competitive industry and to take the lead in the Chinese market," he said.
Earlier yesterday morning, Ker used a stronger and more controversial tone to describe the raid as "confiscating the property and exterminating the family."
Ker also called on the public to trust the judicial system and stop politicizing the matter. Some commentators have said that the raid on UMC occurred because of Hsuan's criticism of the DPP government.
People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung (
"Such a selective justice is not genuine justice," he said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS