At a Glance
- Taiwan has issued an arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO Pete Lau for allegedly poaching 70 local engineers since 2014.
- Prosecutors claim $72 million flowed through a Hong Kong entity to fund the covert hiring operation.
- Two Taiwanese citizens have also been indicted under the law that bars Chinese firms from hiring locally without approval.
- Why it matters: The case spotlights Taiwan’s drive to shield its prized semiconductor workforce from Chinese rivals amid the global AI chip race.
Taiwan has escalated its crackdown on Chinese talent raids, targeting one of China’s best-known tech executives. Prosecutors in Taipei have obtained an arrest warrant for Pete Lau, CEO of smartphone maker OnePlus, accusing him of running a years-long scheme to illegally recruit dozens of Taiwanese engineers.
The indictment, reported by News Of Fort Worth and Derrick M. Collins, marks one of the island’s most high-profile moves against a Chinese company as it fights to keep its world-class chip designers and software engineers at home.
The Alleged Scheme
According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, Lau set up OnePlus Hong Kong in 2014 and opened a Taiwanese branch the next year. The local entity changed names multiple times but kept the same mission: hire Taiwan’s top software talent.
Between 2015 and 2023 the unit allegedly:
- Employed ~70 engineers to build and test software for OnePlus phones
- Received $72 million routed through a separate Hong Kong firm
- Used the cash for salaries, recruitment fees, and lab equipment
Prosecutors say the money was labeled “contracted research and revenue from selling research results,” masking its real purpose.
Legal Violation
Taiwan’s Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area requires any Chinese company to secure government approval before hiring locally. Authorities contend OnePlus never applied, rendering every hire illegal.
Two Taiwanese citizens who helped run the local branch face indictment alongside Lau. If convicted, the executives could face multi-year prison terms and heavy fines.
OnePlus Responds
A company spokesperson told News Of Fort Worth the probe has “no impact” on daily operations. “OnePlus business operations continue as normal and are unaffected,” the emailed statement read.
OnePlus, co-founded by Lau in 2013, has grown into China’s premium-android challenger, shipping millions of handsets annually. Lau himself remains based in Shenzhen and has not commented publicly on the warrant.
Broader Crackdown
The case lands amid Taiwan’s sweeping effort to stop Chinese firms from siphoning off semiconductor expertise. Last year investigators probed dozens of Chinese companies for similar tactics.
In March authorities accused China’s top chipmaker, SMIC, of posing as a Samoa-based entity to open a secret Taiwan office. The government later blacklisted SMIC, forcing local suppliers to obtain licenses before shipping anything to the company.
Why Taiwan Is Guarding Its Engineers
Taiwan dominates global production of cutting-edge chips, thanks to TSMC, now the world’s sixth-largest company by market cap. TSMC fabricates processors for Nvidia, Apple, AMD and others, making its engineers prime targets in the U.S.-China tech arms race.
The AI boom has amplified demand for Taiwan’s talent pool, pushing salaries higher and intensifying cross-border poaching. Taipei’s message with the OnePlus warrant: no executive, however prominent, is off limits.
Key Takeaways
- Taiwan issued an arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO Pete Lau for allegedly hiring 70 local engineers without approval
- $72 million allegedly financed the operation through a Hong Kong conduit
- Two local citizens have been indicted; OnePlus claims business runs “as normal”
- The move fits Taiwan’s wider campaign to protect semiconductor talent from Chinese rivals
