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Cabinet denies that investigation has any political basis

The Cabinet yesterday denied that the raid and investigation into United Microelectronics Corp's (UMC) alleged illegal investment in China is politically motivated.

"Prosecutors are doing what they think is necessary and it has nothing to do with politics," Cabinet Spokesman Chou Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told reporters yesterday at the Government Information Office.

He was yesterday peppered with questions about Hsinchu prosecutors' raid on UMC's offices on Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutors' investigation into UMC's alleged ties with He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co in China yesterday impacted on local stock prices. The TAIEX shed 71.33 points to close at 6,072.16.

Rumors circulating in the stock market suggested that was UMC was targeted because senior company officials do not support the Democratic Progressive Party government.

Chou said that prosecutors are merely doing their jobs and cracking down on crime. Their actions will not affect the government's major economic policies.

"Judicial investigations are independent and nobody can interfere with prosecutors' work at all. Politics and economy are two separate issues in this case," Chou said.

He added that the Executive Yuan had had no idea that prosecutors were going to raid UMC and detain He Jian executive Hsu Chien-hwa's (徐建華) until Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) read about it in the newspaper.

"Prosecutors did their jobs alone. We should not use too much imagination and think that they must have been asked to do so by some heavyweight politicians, because this is not what is happening at all," Chou said.

At yesterday's press conference, Chou urged owners of local companies to follow the rules and obey the law, especially when it comes to overseas investments.

"It is especially sensitive and complicated for the high-tech industry. Everybody wants to make money, but I hope that everybody will play by the rules," he said.

UMC is the world' second biggest contract chipmaker, and is based in Hsinchu, the nation's major city for high-tech industries. He Jian is a semiconductor start-up in China employing a high percentage of former UMC workers.
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