Taiwan just proved it’s not afraid to go after big names as it ramps up efforts to compete with China in the tech talent pool.
Taiwanese authorities have issued an arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, accusing him of illegally recruiting dozens of Taiwanese engineers since 2014.
The move comes as Taiwan has been strengthening enforcement against Chinese companies that attempt to lure away its highly sought-after tech workforce. The AI boom has only intensified that pressure, elevating the island’s semiconductor industry and driving competition for its engineers. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is now the world’s sixth-largest company by market capitalization and manufactures chips for tech giants like Nvidia and Apple.
With China and the U.S. locked in a heated technological arms race to develop more advanced AI systems, it’s little surprise that Chinese companies would turn to Taiwan as a prime source of talent.
In this case, Lau is accused of establishing a Hong Kong–based company called OnePlus Hong Kong and opening a Taiwanese branch of that company in 2015. That entity allegedly underwent some name changes and eventually hired around 70 engineers who worked on developing and testing software for OnePlus, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.
Authorities also accuse OnePlus of transferring more than $72 million to the Taiwanese company through a separate Hong Kong firm for what it described as “contracted research and revenue from selling research results.” Prosecutors say the money was used to recruit Taiwanese engineers, pay their salaries, and buy equipment for the business.
Taiwanese authorities argue the arrangement violated the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, which requires Chinese companies to receive government approval before hiring locally. Two Taiwanese citizens were also indicted in connection with the alleged scheme.
“OnePlus business operations continue as normal and are unaffected,” a OnePlus spokesperson told Gizmodo in an emailed statement.
This makes Lau one of Taiwan’s more high-profile targets. He co-founded OnePlus in 2013, and the company has since grown into one of China’s most prominent smartphone brands.
But this isn’t the first time Chinese companies have come under scrutiny from Taiwanese authorities. Throughout last year, Taiwan investigated dozens of Chinese firms over similar alleged schemes.
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