Taiwan Issues Arrest Warrant for OnePlus CEO Pete Lau Over Illegal Recruitment

2026-01-14 global

Taipei, Wednesday, 14 January 2026.
Taiwan authorities issued an arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO Pete Lau today, alleging the firm illegally recruited over 70 engineers, marking a significant escalation in protecting domestic tech talent.

Allegations of Unauthorized Operations

The Shilin District Prosecutors Office formally issued the warrant today, accusing Lau of violating the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, commonly known as the Cross-Strait Act [1][4]. Prosecutors allege that OnePlus, a subsidiary of the Chinese tech giant Oppo, circumvented regulatory oversight to establish an unauthorized presence on the island [3][4]. Alongside Lau, two Taiwanese citizens have been indicted for allegedly facilitating these operations, which reportedly involved the recruitment of more than 70 engineers to work on smartphone software research and development [1][3].

The Mechanics of Evasion

According to investigators, the recruitment scheme dates back to at least 2015 [2]. Authorities claim that OnePlus established a shell company in Hong Kong to obscure its origins before launching a branch office in Taiwan without the requisite government approval [2]. This structure allegedly allowed the Shenzhen-headquartered company to bypass strict laws that require Chinese firms to obtain explicit permission before hiring Taiwanese workers or setting up local operations [1][2]. The recruited talent was reportedly tasked with verification, testing, and application development for OnePlus mobile devices, effectively transferring high-value technical expertise to the mainland [1][2].

A Strategic Crackdown on Talent Poaching

This legal action represents the latest offensive in Taiwan’s broader strategy to stem the outflow of critical technology and personnel to China, which Taipei views as a geopolitical adversary [3]. The island’s semiconductor and technology sectors are frequent targets for recruitment due to the shared language and the high caliber of local engineering talent [7]. To counter this, the Investigation Bureau launched a dedicated task force in 2020, which has since opened over 100 investigations into illegal recruitment practices by Chinese entities [6][7].

Precedents in the Tech Sector

The focus on OnePlus follows a series of aggressive enforcement actions taken throughout 2025. Last year, Taiwanese authorities raided 34 locations linked to 11 Chinese technology companies [6]. This included a high-profile probe into Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), which allegedly disguised its Taiwan operations as a Samoan entity to hire local talent [6][7]. Similarly, in September 2025, prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Grace Wang, the chair of Luxshare Precision Industry Co., on comparable grounds regarding the theft of trade secrets and talent poaching [4].

Corporate Response and Market Impact

Despite the legal turmoil surrounding its leadership, OnePlus has stated that its business operations remain normal and unaffected by the proceedings [4][7]. The brand, which fully integrated as a sub-brand under Oppo in 2021, is a significant player in the global market; collectively, the group held an 8% share of smartphone volume in 2025 [4]. However, the indictment of Lau—a prominent figure in the Chinese mobile industry—signals that Taiwan is willing to target top-level executives to enforce its economic boundaries [3].

Summary of Implications

The issuance of this arrest warrant underscores the deepening technological rift between Taipei and Beijing. By targeting the leadership of major Chinese consumer electronics firms, Taiwan is enforcing a zero-tolerance policy against unauthorized technology transfers. As the Cross-Strait Act is leveraged more aggressively, foreign and Chinese firms operating in the region face heightened scrutiny regarding their hiring practices and corporate structures [2][4].

Sources

Geopolitics Semiconductors