An advocacy group has urged the government to crack down on Shopee Taiwan Co Ltd (樂購蝦皮), as the subsidiary of Singapore-based Sea Ltd (冬海集團) allegedly enables Chinese entities to gather information on Taiwanese users.
The Economic Democracy Union said that the new Cabinet, which took office on Tuesday, should take action, after the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) under its chairman, Huang Tien-mu (黃天牧), allegedly broke its promise to scrutinize platforms accused of being covertly run by Chinese entities and draft stricter regulations to rein in practices that benefit China.
Union researcher Ou Hsu-shao (歐栩韶) said the Shopee Taiwan owner is backed by Chinese capital, with Tencent Holdings (騰訊) holding a 39.7 percent stake in it when the local subsidiary was registered in 2015.
Photo: CNA
It had as of last year reduced its stake to 18.7 percent, but the number of incidents that suggest that the platform does not adhere to the necessary data security standards remains high, Ou told a briefing at the legislature.
“Shopee had three serious network shutdowns last year, in which registration data of Taiwanese sellers and customers were compromised,” Ou said, adding that the explanations given by company executives were not convincing.
“They did not present plans to compensate people whose data were compromised, and the FSC did nothing about it,” Ou said.
A network failure at Cathay United Bank in October last year prompted the FSC to fine it NT$12 million (US$404,040 at the current exchange rate), and the watchdog should have imposed a similar penalty on Shopee, Ou said.
“The FSC does not regulate capital flows at Shopee, as it is operating without an electronic payments license,” Ou said. “Taiwan’s outdated financial regulations do not cover such e-commerce business activities.”
Ou said Huang had promised to take action, “but near the end of last year, the FSC chairman said the process would take until June,” Ou said.
The researcher also accused the e-commerce platform of seeking to drive competitors out of the market.
“Shopee Taiwan initially offered free delivery for all orders. After that led to many people signing up, it raised its delivery rates, including six times last year,” Ou said, adding that such practices contravene the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法).
The Economic Democracy Union has received many reports of Chinese entities selling the registration information of Taiwanese users, Ou said.
“Our investigation showed increased fund flows between accounts in Taiwan and China,” union member Chen Ku-hsiung (陳估熊) said.
Such activities might be used for regular money transfers between Taiwan and China that are outside the purview of the government, Chen said, adding that illicit political donations and vote-buying in next year’s presidential and legislative elections could be processed via Shopee.
Contraband articles offered by Chinese sellers are increasingly promoted on Shopee Taiwan, Chen said, adding that importing such goods would contravene the law.
There are health concerns regarding food items, including peanuts, fruits and seafood, offered by Chinese sellers, Chen said.
“Shopee is engaged in illegally importing Chinese goods, but the government is doing nothing about it,” Chen said.
Deputy Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is convener of the Consumer Protection Committee, should make dealing with consumer rights contraventions at Shopee a priority, Chen said.
Ou said that the new Cabinet should scrutinize electronic payments at Shopee.
“If the practices continue and the government does not take action, they could lead to a financial crisis and social turmoil,” Ou said. “The funds of Taiwanese users might become unavailable to them.”
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS