An information technology company that provides key systems software for much of the country’s financial institutions is alleged to have been bought by a major China-based investor, an opposition legislator said.
The purchase has raised questions among Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers on just how much of Taiwan’s sensitive financial data may have flown across the Taiwan Strait to Chinese companies.
DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) yesterday provided documents showing that Harmonation Inc, a company headquartered in Taipei, was 85 percent owned by Camelot Information Systems, a Chinese-run consulting company set up in Taiwan in 2006.
Camelot, the Beijing-headquartered parent company of the same name, also runs VLife Technology Co and Hwawei Information, two firms that also provide consulting and management services for banks and insurance providers, Pan said.
In addition, Harmonation Inc is also the sole provider of computer systems that grade test papers for public service exams and entrance examinations at colleges and universities.
“This means that Chinese-owned companies already have access to the financial data of millions of people nationwide. This is in addition to information from hundreds of thousands of university applicants,” Pan told the legislature.
Under new guidelines adopted in June for Chinese businesses that have investments in Taiwan, the three business run by Taiwan’s Camelot Information Systems should be classified as Chinese-run, as their parent company is run by Simon Ma (馬一鳴), a Chinese investor, Pan said.
The move would limit the companies’ abilities to participate in public tenders and could mean that Harmonation Inc would no longer be permitted to provide test paper grading systems for the government.
“That’s because down the road, this could have an impact on national security — especially as the Ministry of Economic Affairs is not properly addressing this issue,” Pan said.
Inquiries to Harmonation Inc were referred to managers at Camelot Information Systems, which by press time had yet to return requests for comment.
In a press release, the ministry yesterday defended its decision to classify Camelot and its subsidiaries as foreign-owned rather than Chinese-run companies.
The Beijing-headquartered parent of the company is registered in the British Virgin Islands and four of its six board members are British and US citizens, including Ma, the ministry said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS