An information technology company that provides key systems software for much of the country’s financial institutions is alleged to have been bought by a major China-based investor, an opposition legislator said.
The purchase has raised questions among Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers on just how much of Taiwan’s sensitive financial data may have flown across the Taiwan Strait to Chinese companies.
DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) yesterday provided documents showing that Harmonation Inc, a company headquartered in Taipei, was 85 percent owned by Camelot Information Systems, a Chinese-run consulting company set up in Taiwan in 2006.
Camelot, the Beijing-headquartered parent company of the same name, also runs VLife Technology Co and Hwawei Information, two firms that also provide consulting and management services for banks and insurance providers, Pan said.
In addition, Harmonation Inc is also the sole provider of computer systems that grade test papers for public service exams and entrance examinations at colleges and universities.
“This means that Chinese-owned companies already have access to the financial data of millions of people nationwide. This is in addition to information from hundreds of thousands of university applicants,” Pan told the legislature.
Under new guidelines adopted in June for Chinese businesses that have investments in Taiwan, the three business run by Taiwan’s Camelot Information Systems should be classified as Chinese-run, as their parent company is run by Simon Ma (馬一鳴), a Chinese investor, Pan said.
The move would limit the companies’ abilities to participate in public tenders and could mean that Harmonation Inc would no longer be permitted to provide test paper grading systems for the government.
“That’s because down the road, this could have an impact on national security — especially as the Ministry of Economic Affairs is not properly addressing this issue,” Pan said.
Inquiries to Harmonation Inc were referred to managers at Camelot Information Systems, which by press time had yet to return requests for comment.
In a press release, the ministry yesterday defended its decision to classify Camelot and its subsidiaries as foreign-owned rather than Chinese-run companies.
The Beijing-headquartered parent of the company is registered in the British Virgin Islands and four of its six board members are British and US citizens, including Ma, the ministry said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS