Two venture capital companies managed by former top-ranking government officials are suspected of illegally investing in China and are expected to be fined up to NT$5 million each, officials at the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
"The government has decided to come down hard on Taiwanese companies that have invested illegally in China," Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (
One of the companies on the ministry's list is Prudence Capital Co (
The company invested US$80 million in Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯國際集成電路), the Cabinet said in a statement on Friday.
Prudence, a Taiwan-based venture capital company funded in part by the government's Development Fund (
"Though the company [Prudence] agreed to withdraw its investment, its practice is still considered illegal given current laws and should be punished," said Huang Chin-tan (
According to regulations, Cabinet funds cannot be invested directly or indirectly in China through venture capital companies, Huang said.
Another company on the list is Global Strategic Investment Fund (
Huang said Global Strategic, which is invested in part by the ministry's Yao Hua Glass Co (
"We have submitted to the Executive Yuan a list of Taiwanese companies that have illegally invested in China," Huang said, without naming the companies suspected of breaking the law.
"We will also severely punish those investors," he added.
The ministry required Taiwanese companies to register their China-bound investments with the government. A total of 23,806 China-bound investment items worth of US$9.1 billion had been registered as of Dec. 26, the ministry said.
Today is the last day for registration and the government is formulating legislation to tighten China investment rules.
Under that plan, "companies would have to apply to the government for approval if they plan to invest in China, or they will face punishments ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$25 million," Huang said.
Under the current rules, companies suspected of breaking the law are subject to fines ranging between NT$1 million and NT$5 million.
Last Friday, the government said it would adopt stricter measures to prevent companies from illegally transferring capital to China while leaving debts unsettled at home.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would