"Cooperation with the United States is
the top priority of course, and yet the biggest market (China) is also of
paramount importance," Taiwan reported citing Business Korea's sources.
The South Korean government is reluctant to
jeopardize the operations of South Korean chipmakers like Samsung who have a
core manufacturing infrastructure in China.
The western Chinese city of Xi'an is home
to Samsung's only overseas memory chip plant. The fab accounts for roughly 40
percent of the Korean conglomerate's total NAND flash production.
Meanwhile, China is waging economic warfare
to acquire Taiwan's semiconductor industries, home to the world-leading
semiconductor industry, second only after the US.
The Taiwanese government has accused China
of waging economic warfare against Taiwan's tech sector by stealing technology
and inveigling away skilled engineers, reported The HK Post.
Taiwanese Executive Minister Lo Ping Cheng
charged that Beijing was enticing Taiwan's advanced-tech personnel and engaging
in theft of national critical technologies, circumventing regulations,
illegally investing and operating in Taiwan causing the nation a huge loss in
IT security and industry competitiveness.
Semiconductors or 'chips' are the essential
building blocks in technological innovation and economic development. These
chips are ubiquitous in all electrical devices including smartphones,
electronic vehicles, hypersonic armaments, airships, pacemakers etc.
In the past few years, the government of
Taiwan has reported many charges concerning the theft of chip trade secrets by
Chinese organisations.
While China manufactures the majority of
the world's computers and smartphones, it imports almost all the semiconductors
needed to run these gadgets.
To remove its technological dependence,
China regularly engages in industrial espionage and other activities in an
effort to develop its own semiconductor industry. This was also one of the main
reasons why China was trying hard to get Taiwan back under its hold.
Investigation Bureau of Taiwan under the
administration of the Ministry of Justice rounded up 60 Chinese nationals on
the allegation of stealing trade secrets and poaching tech employees from
Taiwan, reported The HK Post.
The list of companies investigated includes
Vimicro, GLC Semiconductor, Analogix Semiconductor, Beijing Yinxing Technology
among others. © Reuters