China’s largest bitcoin mining machine manufacturer Bitmain is suspected of setting up two companies in Taiwan, namely Zhiyin and Xindao, to secretly poach Taiwan’s top IC design talents with high salaries to develop AI chips.
According to the press release provided by the New Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, the case is about a Chinese chip design company crossing over to develop AI chips and cooperating with former R&D personnel of Taiwan IC design companies through joint investment in start-up companies, with the domestic R&D personnel serving as the chairman of the newly established company on the mainland, and then bringing in the old Family members of the former company, forming a poaching team and setting up a large R&D center privately in Taiwan with an annual salary twice as high as the original one. More than two times the original annual salary, poaching with high R & D capabilities R & D talent.
According to the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, the intelligent technology and Core Road have poached hundreds of R&D talents over the past three years, seriously threatening the development of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Prosecutor Hong Songbiao of the Special Group for Black Money Prosecution of the New Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office directed the New Taipei City Investigation Division to search seven premises of IGS and Core Road and seize payroll passbooks, employee confidentiality agreements, admission notices, employee rosters, employment contracts, electromagnetic records, cell phones, laptops and other exhibits on the 9th.
The New Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office also interviewed four defendants, including Yan Jinzhong, the head of IGS, Huang Zhihui, the head of Xindao, and Wu Zhenxi, the director and Cao Xikang, the deputy director of Crystal Vision Intelligent Company in Beijing, China, which belongs to the two companies.
The company’s director, Wu Zhenxi, and deputy director, Cao Xikang, are accused of violating the Cross-Strait People’s Relations Ordinance.
Liu Shifang, chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party’s Legislative Yuan caucus, said in an interview that many related companies in Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science Park have reflected a very long Time, that is, the introduction of Chinese hunters, with high salaries to poach the key foundation of Taiwan’s plans, designs, or intellectual property rights, transferred to mainland China in an illegal way, is very harmful to Taiwan.
Liu Shih-fang: “To prevent the country’s key basic core technology outflow to mainland China, after all, mainland China is hostile to Taiwan, we hope to maintain Taiwan’s competitive edge in industry. In accordance with the “cross-strait people’s relations regulations” detection, I think this is a good direction.”
Liu Shih-fang also called on the Ministry of Economic Affairs or the Land Commission, “Business Secrets Act” if the law to be amended can be proposed as soon as possible, so that the key manufacturers of bamboo science and technology have the law to follow, can protect their own key core technology.
Bit mainland talent shortage official website to recruit people in Taiwan to smash a heavy cut to grab people
According to Taiwan’s Free Times quoted Taiwan semiconductor industry rumors, bit mainland is ready to invest in semiconductor manufacturing major TSMC mass production of new 5-nanometer products, is expected to start production in the third quarter, production capacity of about 5,000 pieces, for the “bit mainland”, TSMC not only first charge the full cost of mass production, but also signed without any obstruction of business secrets and The special edition of the statement of intellectual property rights, otherwise it will not be put into production, TSMC will not respond to any customer-related issues.
“Founded in 2013, Bitmainland is a private company headquartered in Beijing, China. It is mainly engaged in bitcoin mining, high-density server equipment and specialized integrated circuit chips for massively parallel computing software, and is currently the leading bitcoin mining industry in China. The recruitment message on Bitmain’s official website includes nearly 20 positions such as digital chip designers, chip design back-end engineers, and semiconductor process engineers, which shows that Bitmain is in desperate need of various engineer talents.
According to the Taiwanese media Apple Daily, some of the engineers who have been tapped include IC design maker MediaTek and packaging and testing maker Sun and Moon, and some have worked for TSMC.
DPP legislator He Zhiwei believes that the world will poach each other’s high-level or professional talents, the industry has the so-called “revolving door” clause, Taiwan engineers should have signed a “confidentiality clause” or “revolving door clause “, the industry is welcome to cooperate with government units for relatively high intensity.
He Zhiwei: “If these engineers have been maliciously poached, and reveal commercial secrets, ‘confidentiality clause’ or ‘revolving door clause’ will be Taiwan’s future Life preserver. The relevant amendments are already in place, and now it’s how to implement and enforce it.”
Chip is like the 21st century oil Lin Zongnan called for a national security strategy to protect the outflow of talent and technology
Lin Zongnan, a professor of electrical engineering at National Taiwan University, was interviewed by the station, saying that the investigation is actually quite slow, because Chinese companies have been poaching Taiwan’s talents in this way, and only recently have we seen the investigation take action. He called on the Taiwan government to speed up the seriousness of protecting high-tech technology and talent from exodus.
Lin Zongnan: “The current pattern of confrontation between the United States and China, these high-tech technologies and talents are strategic and important national assets, the government should have a more active attitude to prevent technology and talent by China’s encroachment strategy. Although slower, at least now the government has action, which involves national security strategy issues. The government has been taking an ostrich attitude.”
Lin Zongnan reminded that the Taiwan government should realize that chips are like oil in the 21st century, and even the United States is currently cognizant of too much dependence on Taiwan’s chip production, which is also a risk to his national security. From the recent confrontation between the U.S. and China, it should be re-cognized that technology for national security, not only livelihood technology, the government should be more serious about the policy and attitude of national technology development.
Business Secrets Act amendment Taiwan’s ministries and commissions have a gap in Perception
Taiwan Land Commission Chairman Chiu Tai-san mentioned when he took office last month that in order to avoid unfair competition from China and to protect Taiwan’s industries and technologies that have advantages and involve the lifeblood of science and technology, he will coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economic Affairs across ministries to define the scope and carry out amendments and legislation, including the Trade Secrets Act and other related bills.
Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Meihua believes that the Ministry of Economic Affairs has been amended in 2013 and 2018 respectively, the introduction of a very large number of changes and criminal liability, but also again for the investigation of how to protect business secrets, the introduction of the “investigation of secrecy order” system. As for the future, there is no need to amend the law again, will continue to understand the needs of industry, follow-up discussions.
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