The Executive Yuan is considering measures to prevent Chinese commercial espionage and the poaching of core technologies, especially in semiconductors and information technology, sources said.
The Executive Yuan is considering amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法) to respond to increasing reports of Chinese firms recruiting Taiwanese and stealing core technologies, the sources said.
Although Taiwan prohibits firms from China from doing business or recruiting locally without prior approval, some companies conceal their Chinese ownership to recruit workers, they said.
Beijing-based Bitmain Technologies (比特大陸), an IC chip design firm, is suspected of using its Taiwanese units — New Taipei City-based WiseCore Technology (智鈊科技) and Hsinchu-based IC Link (芯道互聯) — to illegally recruit hundreds of engineers from Taiwanese firms over three years, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said.
An investigation found that since 2018 Bitmain had recruited more than 200 engineers and managers, she said, adding that the suspects were released on bail ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$200,000 (US$3,517 to US$7,033).
“It is a clear case of China’s ‘red supply chain’ stealing from us. On the surface we have laws preventing such offenses, but in reality they could not stop the theft and poaching from happening. This has resulted in the theft of Taiwan’s core technologies to China one after another,” she said.
Citing data from the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau, DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) yesterday said that 47 out of 129 breaches of the Trade Secrets Act from 2013 to October last year have resulted in Taiwanese trade secrets finding their way to China.
The government must better protect its trade secrets, which would help Taiwan win the trust of countries that it works with, he said, adding that there is a discrepancy in fines handed to United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) for its involvement in a corporate espionage case.
In October last year, the contract chipmaker agreed to pay a US$60 million fine related to its involvement in the theft of trade secrets from Idaho-based Micron Technology to help China’s Fujian Jin Hua Integrated Circuit (晉華集成電路).
For the same offense, the Taichung District Court in June last year fined UMC NT$100 million.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) has met with officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Ministry of Science and Technology to discuss amendments to the act, sources said.
MOEA officials believe the act has already been bolstered in the past few years and that breaches should be examined on a case-by-case basis, they added.
The MOEA, which appears conservative on the idea of amending the act, should see the changes as a matter of national security, Chen said.
An Executive Yuan official said the act mainly focuses on protecting the proprietary technology of companies in traditional industries and covers legal and financial rights in the private sector.
The theft of trade secrets in emerging technologies, many of which have been funded with government subsidies and technical assistance is a different matter, the official added.
Such cases severely affect national security, and changes to the act are needed to prevent them, the official said.
Additional reporting by Chien Hui-ju
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