Image credit- South China Morning Post
Taiwan’s Minister of economic affairs Wang Mei-hua agreed on the 4th of October during questioning by lawmakers to launch a probe into four tech firms that collaborated with Huawei on chip plants. The Taiwanese government is concerned about potential national security risks arising from their companies participating in semiconductor production facilities in China, especially if these facilities are associated with Huawei, a tech giant with close ties to the Chinese government.
Over concerns that its goods may allow China to spy on their networks, the United States and its allies have limited its access to important markets and advanced technology, including chip manufacturing.
Since being sanctioned by the US in 2019, Huawei has increased R&D investment to lessen its dependency on imports: in March, founder Ren Zhengfei described its development of local alternatives to components it can no longer acquire from the US.
In addition to looking into export control violations, a ministry representative stated that a team will investigate whether the companies’ operations in the mainland are covered in their applications approved by the government.
In recent years, Huawei, a pioneer in 5G telecom equipment, has been intensifying the US-China dispute over sophisticated technology. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is a Chinese multinational technology corporation with it’s headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong. China claims Taiwan to be its territory as it is the perfect medium for the design and production of semiconductors, the contemporary global economy’s lifeblood.
Taiwan’s decision to investigate Taiwanese tech firms involved in semiconductor production partnerships with Huawei in China reflects growing concerns over national security risks and export control violations.