Taiwan President's Chosen Successor Opposes China Chip Opening
- KMT chairman Chu against mainland funds for chip designers
- Government had proposed lifting ban in $19 billion industry
Taiwan's ruling party Kuomintang presidential candidate Eric Chu.
Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Taiwanese presidential hopeful Eric Chu said he opposed mainland Chinese investment in the island’s microchip designers, breaking with his ally, outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou, as he attempts to close a wide gap in the polls.
Chu, the chairman of Taiwan’s ruling party, the Kuomintang, described the $19 billion industry as too important to open to greater influence from the island’s former civil war rival. He was answering questions from Bloomberg about a proposal by Ma’s government to lift a ban on mainland Chinese investment in integrated-circuit-design companies such as the Hsinchu-based MediaTek Inc. as the global smartphone boom slows.