Taiwan has issued an arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO Pete Lau
By ForGeeks
Taiwanese prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for Pete Lau — co-founder and CEO of OnePlus, according to media reports. The case stems from Taiwan’s tightening measures against alleged engineering talent poaching by Chinese tech companies.
The case is related to Taiwan’s tightening measures against alleged engineering talent poaching by Chinese tech companies.
According to Bloomberg, citing the Shilin County Prosecutor’s Office, Lau is accused of illegally recruiting Taiwanese engineers over the past decade. The investigation alleges that OnePlus illegally hired more than 70 engineers from Taiwan since 2014, violating local laws restricting business and personnel ties with mainland China. Two Taiwanese nationals who allegedly worked for Lau and participated in the scheme have also been indicted.
An indictment has also been filed against two Taiwanese nationals who allegedly worked for Lau and participated in the scheme.
Taiwan’s authorities have been aggressively stepping up protection of its semiconductor technology and engineering workforce in recent years amid ongoing political tensions with China. Such investigations are increasingly seen as national security issues. The aim — to prevent intellectual property leakage and the exodus of highly skilled professionals to rival nations. In this context, OnePlus and its management have been at the center of law enforcement attention.
So far, OnePlus and its management have been the focus of law enforcement attention.
Pete Lau is one of the most prominent figures in the global technology industry and especially in the Chinese smartphone segment. He has played a key role in building OnePlus into a globally recognizable brand, and also holds an important position within OPPO, where he is currently the head of product.
Pete Lau is one of the most prominent figures in the global technology industry, and particularly in the Chinese smartphone segment.
As Bloomberg notes, Lau’s case — is not an isolated incident. In recent years, Taiwanese authorities have threatened to restrict chip exports to South Africa, sued Tokyo Electron over possible intellectual property violations, and investigated whether one of Intel’s new hires passed trade secrets to TSMC.
An investigation into whether one of Intel’s new hires passed trade secrets to TSMC is also underway.
A similar arrest warrant was issued last year against Grace Wang — the chairman of Luxshare Precision Industry, a major Chinese supplier and assembler of Apple products.
Pete Lau himself did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment. OnePlus said the company’s operations continue as normal and were not affected by the investigation. Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice has not yet made an official public statement on the case.
