Wafer fabricator TSMC announced on the 23rd in Nanjing plant to expand production of 20,000 pieces of 28 nano mature chip process, triggering the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology consultant Xiang Ligang said in an article, TSMC’s expansion is to cheaper prices to crack down on mainland China’s chip companies, adding that this is a “broken” thing. In Taiwan, some legislators are worried that China is taking advantage of the opportunity to steal intellectual property rights. A number of DPP legislators proposed to amend some provisions of the Trade Secrets Act to protect Taiwan’s high-tech industry.
TSMC approved a capital budget of US$2.887 billion on Friday (23rd) for the expansion of its 28nm mature process capacity, which will be used to expand the capacity of its Nanjing plant and is estimated to increase its monthly capacity to 40,000 wafers. Xiang Ligang, a consultant from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, wrote an article in Sina Finance that TSMC is trying to crush China’s chip industry with high-end chip control and low-end chip dumping suppression.
Xiang Ligang recorded a video in his personal microblogging to further explain that the Chinese government supports, coupled with cheap, hard-working and hardworking manpower, so the expansion of factories in China works best. Xiang Ligang complained, “TSMC in 5 nanometers, 3 nanometers, these advanced processes and not to us, and TSMC also went to the United States to do advanced processes, such as 5 nanometer plant.”
Xiang Ligang: “For ourselves is a matter of extinction, we are the ability to develop the industry and space, we choked ourselves, do we always want TSMC to become Taiwan’s so-called ‘protector of the sacred mountain’?”
Taiwan netizens sarcastic “can not steal technology annoyed”
Xiang Ligang’s article has drawn enthusiastic reactions from Taiwan’s media, some of which used “scared?” When the title, part of the media quoted netizens reaction “can not steal technology to become angry”, there are media mockery “land experts called to stop TSMC Nanjing plant expansion Taiwan net laughs over: to engage in Taiwan independence?”
Taiwan netizens also joined the fray, “Not to find a TSMC traitor, not enough ah!” “Great! Happy to see it happen! It’s China who is unlucky.” Others shouted at the Chinese Communist Party, “TSMC should be strictly prohibited from expanding its production and the tax rate should be increased by 3 times, after all, TSMC cooperates with the United States to suppress Huawei’s supply, so it is right to be harsher on TSMC.” There are also Chinese netizens who have come over the wall to respond “for the first time, I think the green hair is also justified.”
Opposition to TSMC’s Nanjing expansion Xiang Ligang’s article alludes to the impact on business and local government interests
Xiang Ligang’s speech was met with real pressure from within China, Xiang Ligang posted on the 28th, “no surprise, I was personally attacked, for which I have mental preparation, not unexpected, this I have the potential to affect a business important interests, how the local government and business will react.” Xiang Ligang further said, “scold me, can not solve any problems, but also to influence the decision-making sector, which is not very good? Make so many personal attacks, the result in addition to enhance my influence, what is the use?”
TSMC’s secret protection is well done
TSMC’s Nanjing expansion has also caused concern among Taiwan’s legislators. The Economic Committee of the Legislative Yuan on the 28th for the “Business Secrets Act” to amend the law to review. DPP legislator Liu Shih-fang questioned Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Meihua, whether TSMC’s expansion to Nanjing requires the consent of the Investment Review Committee of the Ministry of Economic Affairs?
The Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Meihua: TSMC has contacted us, he will write a note to us.
The DPP legislator Liu Shih-fang: do we need to meet?
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Meihua: After the explanation, we will look at the situation and then deal with it in accordance with our regulations.
Liu Shifang, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): I believe you heard many members of the legislature today worried about the part, you will know that it is not only the amount of investment, although the amount of investment up to 3 billion dollars. The main thing is that a lot of talent part, there will be “reverse engineering” (a project target products to reverse analysis and research, in order to produce a similar function, but not exactly the same product) will dismantle our IPR (intellectual property rights) a lot of things.
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Meihua: Because they have 16 nanometers in the original Nanjing plant.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Liu Shifang: I know, but the last time to the Nanjing plant is already in 2016, the time agreed by the Investment Review Committee is 2016, so far more than six or seven years have passed.
Economic Minister Wang Meihua: I would say the secret protection point is very well done.
Green Committee proposal to amend the “Business Secrets Act” to determine the “foreign hostile forces”
More than 10 ruling party legislators, including DPP legislators Chen Ting-fei and He Xin-chun, proposed to amend the “Business Secrets Law,” which hopes to put Article 13-2, increasing criminal liability and fines. “The maximum penalty will be life imprisonment or more than seven years in prison. It shall be punishable by a fine of not less than NT$3 million and not more than NT$100 million.”
He Xinchun: “We see TSMC and other technology industry ‘protector of the sacred mountain’, indeed, as a mountain to protect Taiwan, many people believe that TSMC’s business secrets, and key technology, technology, talent, currently encountering a lot of snooping or collecting secrets. I hope that through this amendment to the law, can really protect the business secrets or technology, process of the domestic protection group of mountains.”
Article 2 of the law states that “the collection, spying or delivery of information related to business secrets, files or articles by hostile forces outside the country is an act of economic espionage.” The “foreign hostile forces” is clearly defined as “those who are at war or confrontation with our country by force, as well as those who adopt non-peaceful means to endanger the sovereignty of our country, political entities or specific groups, public and private institutions, and who are directed to do so.”
Chen Tingfei: “That is, the scope and purpose of the so-called ‘hostile forces’ is confirmed. I hope that with this amendment, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Justice can very clearly define the scope of ‘extraterritorial’ use. I believe that this will really deter the current situation of stealing our business secrets.”
Some media asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs for the revision of the law attitude seems conservative, Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Meihua stressed in an interview, “from the perspective of national security to prevent this matter, we are very concerned about the recent, but whether to amend the law, in fact, is to review from a higher perspective, because the theft of secrets is very wide, the Executive Yuan has launched inter-ministerial discussions to consider which law to be amended, to strengthen which areas The matter also needs to be communicated with the industry.”
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