The nation’s high-tech sector is under serious threat of industrial espionage as Chinese intelligence operatives target local companies for infiltration and collection of proprietary information, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Yang Kuo-chiang (楊國強) told legislators yesterday.
Yang made the remarks during a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting.
New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said he has grave concerns over Chinese espionage operations, because there have been numerous cases involving Chinese spies luring members of the nation’s armed forces into leaking classified military information.
Photo: CNA
“In addition to our military, which Taiwanese industries have been most seriously affected by Chinese spy infiltration?” Lim asked. “I would like to know, because I want these businesses to be alert to this danger so they can be more careful when hiring new workers.”
Yang said that the semiconductor and other tech sectors are the most likely targets.
Lim said that these sectors are key to the nation’s economy, and “yet President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wants to open up the nation’s technology sector for investment by Chinese business. This is just absurd.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that Yang and the bureau should block bids by Chinese investors and companies to buy out Taiwanese tech businesses.
Wang was referring to the Investment Commission, which is tasked with the review, assessment and monitoring of foreign investment, and where the bureau has a representative seat.
He said the semiconductor sector is a pillar of the nation’s economy and the bureau should veto investment applications from China.
“Taiwan is a leader in IC design and we must not allow know-how and proprietary technology to be taken over by China. It is well-known that most large Chinese businesses are backed by financial capital from the Chinese government,” Wang said.
“So this is a national security issue and a serious threat to Taiwan’s economic development. Therefore, the NSB must not permit Chinese investment in the IC sector,” he added.
DPP Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) also asked Yang about the potential impact on cross-strait ties if China is not satisfied with president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inauguration speech on May 20.
Yang said Beijing might shut down existing negotiation channels, prohibit Chinese tourists from visiting Taiwan, or take diplomatic action if it is unhappy with Tsai’s speech, Yang said.
The president would have to work with other senior government officials to make a response should China take any of the above three actions against Taiwan, Yang said.
Additional reporting by CNA
BACK TO NORMAL? The move would be part of a gradual easing of curbs monitored by the CECC, which would retain the quarantine mandate if case numbers rise again The Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to next month reopen Taiwan’s borders to all visitors and lift the quarantine mandate for arrivals, provided the nation’s COVID-19 situation does not escalate. The changes are likely to take effect on Oct. 13 as part of a phased easing of border controls that is to start on Thursday next week when a negative polymerase chain reaction test result would no longer be needed, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) told a news conference. Arriving travelers would instead be given four rapid antigen home test kits, Lo said. The three-day quarantine requirement followed by four days of mandatory
‘NO SURRENDER’: A blockade or outlying island seizure would be an act of war, and China’s drills last month have emboldened Taipei in its response plans, an official said The Republic of China Army Command Headquarters has agreed to purchase 5,000 Kestrel close-range anti-armor missiles worth NT$400 million (US$12.63 million) from the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, according to the military’s latest arms purchase bid notice. The army asked the institute to complete the order within 13 months, a military source said on condition of anonymity. Kestrel missiles are designed to penetrate armored vehicles and are used in anti-surface warfare, as they feature optical sights and night vision, and can be operated in all weather conditions. The missile has a 400m range, or a 150m range when used for breaching brick
IF THE CHIPS ARE DOWN: The US secretary of state warned that a disruption to the supply of Taiwanese semiconductors would play havoc with the global economy If Taiwan were attacked, the global economy would face devastation, as that is where most of the world’s semiconductors are produced, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday. In an interview that aired on the 60 Minutes television program, Blinken was asked whether instability across the Taiwan Strait would be felt around the world. Blinken said that China has been increasingly aggressive against Taiwan, posing a threat to peace and stability in the region, while economically the world would feel the effects of such aggression. Blinken was interviewed for the program after meeting with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi
‘ABSURD’: UN Resolution 2758 expelled the Chiang Kai-Shek government without mentioning Taipei, something the Chinese minister did not acknowledge, Taipei said Taiwan yesterday criticized Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) for “intentionally misinterpreting” a 1971 UN resolution to misrepresent Taiwan’s status to the global community. In his address on Saturday to the UN General Assembly, Wang cited Resolution 2758 as a basis for Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is part of China. He said that Beijing considers Taiwan an “inseparable part of China’s territory since ancient times.” “Only when China is completely reunified can there be enduring peace across the Taiwan Strait... Any move to obstruct China’s reunification is bound to be crushed by the wheels of history,” Wang said. General Assembly Resolution 2758
RSS