By Wen-Yee Lee
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan authorities said on Thursday they were investigating 16 Chinese companies for allegedly poaching semiconductor and other high-tech talent, amid growing concerns over technology outflows.
More than 300 agents searched 70 locations and questioned 120 people between July 15 and August 6, the Taiwan Investigation Bureau said, in coordinated raids on Chinese firms suspected of illegally recruiting engineers and operating unlicensed offices in Taiwan.
Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.
The Chinese companies under investigation include prominent players in semiconductors, chip design, and electronics manufacturing.
Listed Chinese tech firms named in the probe include Goertek, Shenzhen-listed Victory Giant Technology, which supplies Nvidia and is a top PCB maker, NOVOSENSE Microelectronics, and VNET Group, a Nasdaq-listed Chinese data centre firm.
The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China’s scramble for chip talent and expertise has intensified as Beijing pushes for self-reliance in advanced semiconductors, amid a deepening tech rivalry with the U.S.
Taiwanese law prohibits Chinese investment in some parts of the semiconductor supply chain, including chip design, and requires reviews for other areas such as chip packaging, making it difficult for Chinese chip companies to operate on the island legally.
The investigation bureau said Chinese firms had long targeted Taiwan’s high-tech workforce through covert methods, including operating without regulatory approval, using shell companies registered in Hong Kong or foreign entities, or dispatching staff through local hiring agencies to conceal their identities.
“These companies operated in Taiwan without approval from our authorities, illegally conducting business and poaching our high-tech talent,” said Ya-Chun Ku, one of the investigators.
“We will continue to pursue such cases to prevent Chinese firms from unlawfully recruiting talent or operating in Taiwan, and to effectively safeguard Taiwan’s global advantage in the high-tech industry,” she added.
A special task force has handled more than 100 such cases since late 2020.
“The semiconductor and IC design sectors are the backbone of Taiwan’s economic strength, but in recent years have become key targets for Chinese talent-poaching efforts,” the bureau said in a statement.
(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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