The co-founder and global CEO of OnePlus, Pete Lau, was allegedly involved in illegal business and recruitment activities in Taiwan. Due to this, according to a Reuters report, Taiwan has issued an arrest warrant against Lau. Pete also serves as the Chief Product Officer at OPPO, another Chinese smartphone maker.
As per reports online, Lau has been accused of hiring over 70 engineers from Taiwan in an unlawful manner. This was discovered as a part of a wider investigation. Two Taiwanese citizens who allegedly helped Lau do this have already been indicted, as per the prosecutors. So what was so unlawful about the hiring here? Let's find out.
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Why is Taiwan After Pete Lau, CEO of OnePlus
As per the Cross Strait Act, any Chinese company that wants to hire Taiwaneses individuals need to obtain explicit approval from the Taiwanese government. Lau's hiring process aimed to bypass this law. According to the Prosecutors, OnePlus made a shell company in Hong Kong under a different name, and set up a branch in Taiwan in 2015 through that company. This entity, allegedly did not obtain the required permissions from the regulatory and started research and development (R&D) for OnePlus smartphones.
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The Cross Strait Act ensures that Taiwanese talent is protected and is utilised in the best manner. So what's going to happen to Lau?
Well, Pete Lau is in China. Taiwan can't really extradite him automatically, because there's no such formal extradition treaty between China and Taiwan. Until the time Lau doesn't enter Taiwan, or a co-operating region, he is mostly going to remain safe from any arrest or legal proceedings. How will this affect the global operations of OnePlus is something we will have to wait and see.
