Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan has recently announced a draft bill which would ban mainland Chinese-owned companies from setting up operational research and development offices in Taiwan while strengthening regulations on the establishment of subsidiaries there by Chinese for-profit enterprises. The draft amendments will also include provisions to further restrict mainland China’s companies from hunting Taiwan R&D talent, according to the Taipei Times on July 2.

A probe by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau of Taiwan found that 10 CCP companies had illegally set up subsidiaries or R&D branches in Taiwan, pretending to be foreign investors or Taiwanese companies in an attempt to poach talent from Taiwan’s high-tech industries.

The draft amendment would allow the Taiwanese government to take a tougher stance to prevent mainland Chinese companies from systematically poaching talent from Taiwanese companies, which could affect the country’s economic development and national security.