Taiwan's UMC admits to stealing trade secrets for Chinese company

[Hamartia Antidote]

Taiwan's UMC admits to stealing trade secrets for Chinese company | Taiwan News | 2020-10-29 12:29:00

UMC fined US$60 million for helping Chinese company steal trade secrets from US memory producer Micron | 2020-10-29 12:29:00

www.taiwannews.com.tw

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese semiconductor company has been ordered to pay a fine of US$60 million for conspiring with a Chinese state-run company to steal trade secrets from an American semiconductor firm.

In a press release issued on Wednesday (Oct. 28), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the Taiwanese semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corporation, Inc. (UMC, 聯華電子) had pleaded guilty to criminal theft of secrets and been fined US$60 million for conspiring with Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. (Fujian Jinhua, 福建晉華) to steal trade secrets from American semiconductor company Micron Technology, Inc. (Micron).

However, the DOJ will not pursue additional charges against UMC due to its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of co-defendant Fujian Jinhua, which is a Chinese state-owned enterprise.

In 2018, the DOJ indicted UMC, Fujian Jinhua, and three individuals for conspiracy to steal, convey, and possess Micron's trade secrets regarding the manufacture of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) for the benefit of Fujian Jinhua. As part of its guilty plea, UMC will be subject to a three-year probation, cooperate with the investigation, and pay the second-largest fine in the trade secret case.

Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen stated that UMC's actions were carried out to give China a strategic advantage: "UMC stole the trade secrets of an American leader in computer memory to enable China to achieve a strategic priority: self-sufficiency in computer memory production without spending its own time or money to earn it."

As part of the guilty plea, UMC admitted to hiring Stephen Chen (陳正坤) and engineers J.T. Ho (何建廷), and Kenny Wang (王永銘) from Micron's Taiwan subsidiary. It made Chen senior vice president and put him in charge of a project to develop DRAM technology for Fujian Jinhua.

Chen hired Ho and Wang to participate on the DRAM development team. It was Ho and Wang who secretly stole confidential information from Micron's Taiwan subsidiary and provided it to UMC. After UMC's IT department discovered confidential data from Micron on Ho's UMC computer, Chen arranged for two "off-network" laptops the enable UMC staff to continue accessing Micron's trade secrets without further detection.

When Taiwanese authorities raided UMC's offices, Ho and Wang asked another employee to help hide the stolen information. While the search was underway, Chen was appointed president of Fujian Jinhua and began managing its memory production plant.

Ho, Wang, and another UMC engineer, Rong Le-tien (戎樂天), were charged in 2017 for violating Taiwan's Trade Secrets Act by sharing Micron's business information with Fujian Jinhua during a cooperation project with UMC. On June 12 of this year, a Taichung District Court found Ho, Wang, and Rong guilty and sentenced Rong to six years and six months, Ho to five years and six months, and Wang to four years and six months, with the three also being fined NT$6 million (US$209,000), NT$5 million, and NT$4 million, respectively.

 

[Dark1]

The Chinese might not be leaders in high tech but in stealing they are the world leaders.
And totally shameless ones at that.

 

[Beidou2020]

UMC was probably threatened that if they don’t plead guilty they will be denied access to US technology. This is a common tactic used by the DOJ.

 

[donkeykong]

The Chinese might not be leaders in high tech but in stealing they are the world leaders.
And totally shameless ones at that.

Stealing from your enemies to catch up before you overtake them is a vital part of strengthening your nation so thank you

 

[Nan Yang]

Are these people from the mainland China ?

 

[Beidou2020]

The Chinese might not be leaders in high tech but in stealing they are the world leaders.
And totally shameless ones at that.

If it means closing the technology gap with the West in the fastest time possible, I have no problem with it. In the end, China will be self sufficient in the technology and others won’t be able to deny China that technology.

White man didn’t get strong because of morals. They used colonialism to steal land from natives and used slavery to develop their economies. Free resources and free labour.

China should do this in more areas such as semiconductor equipment like EUV lithography. Reverse engineer and produce for the domestic market.

 

[Dark1]

If it means closing the technology gap with the West in the fastest time possible, I have no problem with it. In the end, China will be self sufficient in the technology and others won’t be able to deny China that technology.

White man didn’t get strong because of morals. They used colonialism to steal land from natives and used slavery to develop their economies. Free resources and free labour.

China should do this in more areas such as semiconductor equipment like EUV lithography. Reverse engineer and produce for the domestic market.

Typical. Proved my point- shameless.

 

[Beidou2020]

Typical. Proved my point- shameless.

Strong survive, weak perish. You are either technologically advanced or you’re not. Irrelevant how you acquire the technology. Once China acquired the technology by any means necessary, it adds to China’s comprehensive national power. That is the only thing that matters in this world. Money and Power. Everything else is meaningless nonsense.

 

[PakFactor]

Strong survive, weak perish. You are either technologically advanced or you’re not. Irrelevant how you acquire the technology. Once China acquired the technology by any means necessary, it adds to China’s comprehensive national power. That is the only thing that matters in this world. Money and Power. Everything else is meaningless nonsense.

No need to teach the Indians they as stupid as they come you would think they learn by now but even with a billion people can’t build a freakin toilet (or get the designs for one).

They don’t realize Western nations have been stealing and building weapons for decades — but it makes an Indian sad when his white masters tech is stolen.

 

[beijingwalker]

The Chinese might not be leaders in high tech but in stealing they are the world leaders.
And totally shameless ones at that.

We can see your frustration for India not being able to make anything. India did try to reverse engineer, but all failed miserably.

 

[PakFactor]

We can see your frustration for India not being able to make anything. India did try to reverse engineer, but all failed miserably.

Indians are only capable enough to stand in a grocery store to sample free items and request discounts on a discounted item.

 

[Beidou2020]

No need to teach the Indians they as stupid as they come you would think they learn by now but even with a billion people can’t build a freakin toilet (or get the designs for one).

They don’t realize Western nations have been stealing and building weapons for decades — but it makes an Indian sad when his white masters tech is stolen.

West doesn’t operate on morals. They are ruthless in their desire for money and power. Unless we are equally ruthless, we can never beat them.

Where were the morals when they invaded and slaughtered millions of people in foreign lands for 500 years and used the natural resources of those lands without paying a cent. To make it worse, they used the labour of the native people for free (slavery).

China must become self-sufficient in technology by using all means necessary. We see what happens in the current tech war when China is dependent on others for technology.

 

[Globenim]

lol these stunt are getting so silly these years its hard to believe some low IQ tards are just going to just eat this BS up without question, and their best justification is that they have been already fed "some much" of the same BS before.

We all know the real story is going to involve something like blackmail by the U.S. regime forcing them to publish this fake story after doing something shady on their own. Using criminals from small time drugdealers to genocidal warcriminals to embolden and do dirty work for the U.S. regime instead of pursuing justice and wellbeing of their people is nothing new. I would not even put it past them to just make it up for nor reason at all, as a dirty deal involving the clique of U.S. backed terrorists in East China hostage.

Not much needs to added why the U.S. regime would be projecting their poisonous behavior on other countries. A usual the U.S. is run by the most shameless liars and thiefs

 

[rott]

The Chinese might not be leaders in high tech but in stealing they are the world leaders.
And totally shameless ones at that.

You don't need to steal. Just stay in the dark ages. Honest Indian.

Indians are only capable enough to stand in a grocery store to sample free items and request discounts on a discounted item.

Hahaha... You surely know Indians better than we do.

 

[F-22Raptor]

Strong survive, weak perish. You are either technologically advanced or you’re not. Irrelevant how you acquire the technology. Once China acquired the technology by any means necessary, it adds to China’s comprehensive national power. That is the only thing that matters in this world. Money and Power. Everything else is meaningless nonsense.

Then you admit that China is a fraud that relies heavily on American scientific and technological know how. You can’t have it both ways. China steals hundreds of billions of dollars of American IP, and yet you still can’t make a single revolutionary product or revolutionize an industry.

China is very good and stealing others ideas and making incremental improvements. But when it comes to truly innovative ideas and products China is a nobody.

The CCP knows the Chinese people aren’t as creative/innovative as the American people. That’s why you have to steal. When the US steals hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese IP is the day the US has lost. Stealing others know how is an admission of backwardness.