The government should use all means at its disposal to stem the flow of high-tech investment to China, according to a report out of the National Security Bureau (
The Bureau issued an analysis of their conclusion in a top secret report titled, An Analysis on how the Chinese Communist Party Attracts Taiwanese High Tech Investment for the Suzhou Industrial Park.
According to Chinese-language media, the report implores government officials to curb high-tech investment, saying 74 Taiwan tech firms have already invested NT$20 billion (US$841 million) in the Suzhou (蘇州) Park, which sits just outside of Shanghai.
One official said the report emphasizes high-tech firms due to fears that once they are heavily invested, these firms will become political puppets of Beijing.
"The `no haste, be patient' investment policy has nothing to do with the small and medium-sized companies in Taiwan, only with big investors," said a government official on condition of anonymity.
Formosa Plastics Group Chair-man Wang Yung-ching (王永慶) is a prime example. On public television last week, he implored people in Taiwan to "calmly accept the `one China' principle," while repeating his call to lift all curbs on investment across the Strait.
The "no haste" policy stopped Wang from investing US$6 billion in 1992 to build a chemical complex in China's Fujian Province.
Laws in Taiwan currently limit single investments to only US$50 million for China-bound projects, and ban certain high-tech investments and infrastructure projects. These measures have had little effect on companies who skirt the law by setting up holding companies and transferring investment money directly from overseas accounts into China.
Last year, China's information technology production value topped US$25.5 billion, beating Taiwan for the first time, with Taiwanese firms based in China accounting for an estimated 72 percent of that figure.
"I think people are really getting too emotional about [this issue] because nobody, including the government, is sitting down to discuss this matter rationally. How much money has gone over to China? How much impact will it have on industry here? You have to go over it sector by sector, item by item and ask the businessmen who intend to go or have already gone to talk about this issue in front of the public," said Andrew Yang (
According to the National Security Bureau report, officials in Suzhou are actively developing industry "clusters" which include the entire spectrum of each industry. From downstream component makers like computer motherboard and monitor producers to PC cases and mouse makers, China has slowly won over the computer industry.
Now, Chinese officials are targeting the semiconductor industry, and have won a few victories with investments pledged by Winston Wang (
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$10.26 billion to finance the construction of its second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, and a second fab in Arizona, using advanced process technologies. The Department of Investment Review approved TSMC’s investment applications on the basis that Taiwan remains a major technology and manufacturing hub for the chipmaker, which makes its most advanced chips at home, the company operates its research-and-development center here and the majority of its capacity remains in Taiwan. The latest capital injections — US$5.26 billion for its Japanese venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
Packed into a small room, a drone, bipedal robot, supermarket checkout and other devices showcase a vision of China’s software future — one where an operating system developed by national champion Huawei (華為) has replaced Windows and Android. The collection is at the Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Center in the southern city of Shenzhen, a local government-owned entity that encourages authorities, companies and hardware makers to develop software using OpenHarmony (鴻蒙), an open-source version of the operating system Huawei launched five years ago after US sanctions cut off support for Google’s Android. While Huawei’s recent strong-selling smartphone launches have been closely watched for
The waves of the Aegean Sea lap gently at the tables and chairs of two beach restaurants on Greece’s Halkidiki peninsula. It is an idyllic scene, but one that is totally illegal. Like many others in Greece, the two establishments on Pefkochori Beach do not have a license to set up shop so close to the water. After a wave of protests last summer by locals about bars and restaurants illegally covering beaches with sunbeds and tables, the Greek state is taking action. It is cracking down on rogue tourist practices with surveillance drones, satellite imagery and a special app
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc, the world’s No. 2 memorychip maker, is to invest 103 trillion won (US$74.6 billion) through 2028 to strengthen its chips business, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), its parent SK Group said yesterday. SK Group also said it plans to secure 80 trillion won by 2026 to invest in AI and semiconductors as well as fund shareholder returns, while streamlining its more than 175 subsidiaries. The sprawling conglomerate outlined the plans following a two-day strategy meeting, aiming to revive the group after SK Hynix, its main money maker, and the group’s electric vehicle battery arm suffered heavy losses. SK