For several months, the Taiwan intelligence services have been busy trying to prevent the Chinese from poaching their semiconductor experts. According to Reutersinvestigations into a hundred Chinese companies suspected of illegally recruiting Taiwanese engineers were opened.
Taiwan struggles to prevent China from recruiting its semiconductor engineers
A Taiwanese intelligence official said 27 businesses have already been raided and their owners were summoned for questioning by the office. Taiwan is desperate to protect its engineers and prevent China from recruiting its semiconductor experts. In the sights of Chinese spies: TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). This company is the most advanced in the world in the field of semiconductors.
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Today, with the crisis we are going through, Taiwan has what China needs: cutting-edge chip expertise. The current situation pushes Xi Jinping’s government to recruit by all possible means the best engineers in the matter. As early as 2020, Taiwan created a working group within the Bureau of Investigation of the Ministry of Justice, whose main mission is to “fight against the poaching of talents”.
Taipei relies on the honor and loyalty of its experts
According to the source who told Reuters, the cases in which the ministry took action by carrying out raids or interrogations represent only “the tip of the iceberg”. Increased military pressure from China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has only Strengthen Taipei’s resolve to protect its dominance in microchips. An asset which is also of strategic importance for the United States, of which a large part of the manufacture of chips is subcontracted on the island.
In itself, Chinese companies are not illegal in trying to recruit Taiwanese engineers. However, a Taiwanese law prohibits Chinese investment in certain parts of the semiconductor supply chain, including chip design. In contrast, Taiwanese engineers are free to travel to China, but many prefer the Taiwanese quality of life. However, Chinese companies sometimes offer salaries two to three times higher than those offered in Taipei.
If Taiwan cannot compete on wages, the country relies on honor and loyalty of its inhabitants. Indeed, engineers who agree to be hired off run the risk of not finding work in Taiwanese technology companies and of suffering “public shame”. Several senior TSMC executives who went to work for SMIC in China have been qualified as “traitors” in the Taiwanese press.