China's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) corporation Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) has established shell corporations to lure advanced semiconductor professionals from Taiwan, and recently 11 companies founded with Chinese capital have been uncovered, Taiwanese media including the Liberty Times and United Daily News reported on the 30th.
The investigation bureau under the Ministry of Justice, which investigates national security-related crimes, stated that it conducted investigations on 11 corporations related to Chinese capital across Taiwan from the 18th to the 27th.
The investigation bureau added that these Chinese corporations illegally recruited research and development (R&D) personnel by offering high salaries through Taiwanese job platforms and transferred research results, such as solid-state drive (SSD) storage technology, to China.
The investigation bureau explained that SMIC, which is referred to as the 'Chinese version of TSMC' after establishing a company in American Samoa, disguised itself under foreign capital in 2010 to set up a subsidiary in the northern Hsinchu region. The bureau noted that it has been conducting special investigations into illegal activities such as talent poaching by Chinese corporations since 2020, processing over 100 cases so far.