An investigation revealed eight Chinese chip companies allegedly illegally poaching talent and trade secrets in Taiwan, the Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday, underscoring a heated global rivalry to develop key technology used in cellphones, vehicles and artificial intelligence.
In a joint investigation launched last month by the Hsinchu, Taipei and New Taipei City prosecutors’ offices, 135 officers under the direction of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau raided 30 locations and questioned 65 people from Aug. 19 to Friday last week, the Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.
The Chinese companies allegedly hid their backgrounds and recruited talent from Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), in an effort to acquire high-end technologies such as semiconductors, it said.
Photo: Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
The companies were iCommsemi (中國深圳市南方硅谷半導體), Shanghai New Vision Microelectronics Co (上海新相微電子), NJAVC (南京齊芯半導體), Emotibot Technologies Ltd (中國竹間智能科技上海), Tongfang Co (同方), ACTT (成都銳成芯微科技), Naura Technology Group Co (中國北方華創微電子裝備) and Hestia Power Inc (中國上海瀚薪科技), prosecutors said.
Naura, which supplies China’s biggest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯), allegedly illegally recruited engineers who worked on chip-related equipment, they said.
The Beijing-based company said in a statement to Bloomberg News that its office in Taiwan “was set up in accordance with local laws and regulations and there is no poaching.”
Hestia Power allegedly moved capital to Taiwan by setting up shell companies in third countries with funding from a sub-fund of the of the Chinese Ministry of Finance’s China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund, prosecutors said.
Tongfang — owned by China National Nuclear Corp (中國核工業集團), a Chinese state-run enterprise that oversees military nuclear programs, information technology, and energy and environmental projects — allegedly disguised its source of funding by setting up a Taiwanese company that recruited a research team of nearly 100 people, in an attempt to acquire technology, they said.
ACTT, a supplier of IC patents and product design, allegedly attempted to cover up its illegal business in Taiwan by telling its staff to register their health insurance at trade unions or district offices, they said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS