Taiwan to criminalize Nvidia AI chip smuggling to China — SkimNews
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- Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers put a Foreign Trade Act amendment before the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee on Monday, proposing to bar unapproved exports of specified chips, wafer materials, components and chipmaking equipment to mainland China; passage is uncertain because the KMT and TPP hold a majority and neither has stated a position.
- Foreign Trade Act’s proposed amendment would impose up to 10 years in prison and NT$5 million to NT$10 million in fines for direct or third-country shipments to China, while making confiscation of illegal gains mandatory.
- Keelung prosecutors indicted nine people in August, including Flying Tiger Technology’s general manager and local Nvidia and Super Micro staff, over 74 Nvidia B300 servers allegedly diverted for more than NT$600 million; none faced an export charge because selling to China broke company rules and U.S. curbs but not Taiwanese law, so prosecutors used breach-of-trust and document-forgery charges.
- U.S. Department of Justice charged Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, Taiwan sales manager Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang and contractor Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun in March 2026; prosecutors said a Thailand-based company bought about US$2.5 billion of servers in 2024-2025 and at least US$510 million was diverted to China from late April to mid-May 2025.
- Taiwan Coast Guard Administration searched 12 locations on May 20, seized about 50 Super Micro servers worth more than US$15 million, luxury cars and NT$9 million in cash, and detained three Taiwanese men; at least one shipment was reported to have passed through Japan to Hong Kong and mainland China.
- Lin Ching-fu said adding AI servers and high-end chips to the economy ministry’s public-notice list would make unlicensed shipments to China a violation carrying up to five years; only legislation would double the cap, explicitly cover third-country routes and require confiscation.
- Wang Guo-chen warned that Taiwanese firms in China could face Chinese fines if they comply with U.S. law and stop selling chips, or U.S. export controls if they follow Beijing; Tseng Chih-chao questioned singling out China because the U.S.-Taiwan agreement also covers North Korea, Iran and Russia, and favored flexible general controls.
Why it matters: According to Wang Guo-chen, Taiwan-based chip firms operating in China face a compliance bind: following U.S. curbs can bring Chinese fines, while following Beijing can trigger U.S. controls. The bill’s 10-year maximum, explicit third-country coverage and mandatory forfeiture distinguish it from the five-year administrative route.
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