Taiwan issues arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO Pete Lau: Who is he and what he is accused of

Taiwan has issued an arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO and co-founder Pete Lau. The tech titan has been accused of running an illegal business operation and recruiting more than 70 employees on the island without proper authorisation.The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office confirmed on Tuesday that it indicted two Taiwanese nationals for allegedly helping Lau establish and operate the unauthorised operations.

What are the allegations against Lau?
Taiwan’s prosecutors allege that Lau and OnePlus illegally recruited more than 70 Taiwanese engineers over the past decade without obtaining approval from Taiwanese authorities.Authorities say that Lau and his associates violated the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, a law that regulates business and recruitment between Taiwan and China.

Taiwan is taking measures to protect its technology and keep sensitive knowledge within the island. These workers are highly skilled in fields like semiconductors and other advanced technologies, which are crucial for Taiwan’s economy and national security.

Who is Pete Lau?

Born in May 1975, Lau is the co-founder and the chief executive officer of Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus. He also serves as Chief Product Officer (CPO) at his former company, Oppo, in China.

Lau’s stint at Oppo

He began his career at Oppo as a hardware engineer, and over time, moved up the ranks and became the director of Oppo’s Blu-ray division.

During his time at Oppo, he became well known in the tech industry for how seriously he took product design.

Later, Lau shifted into marketing and eventually became Vice President of Oppo where he played a key part in bringing CyanogenMod, a customised Android operating system, to the Oppo N1 smartphone. After working for more than 10 years at Oppo, he resigned in November 2013.

Lau launched OnePlus

In December 2013, Lau teamed up with Carl Pei to start their own company named OnePlus. Their goal was to make high-quality, well-designed smartphones without charging premium prices. The company started with just six employees.

Since OnePlus did not have its own factory, Lau arranged for the phone to be manufactured at Oppo’s facilities. The company officially announced its first smartphone, the OnePlus One, in April 2014, and it became available for online purchase in June 2014.

OnePlus received positive reviews from the tech community. This was almost half the price of competing flagship smartphones with similar features. And within the year, the company had sold nearly one million smartphones.