Taiwan’s Gigabyte Technology faces boycott in China after mocking ‘low-quality’ manufacturing on mainland
- The Taipei-based computer hardware company promoted its products as Taiwan-made
- The laptop advertisement was called out by the youth wing of the Communist Party of China
A Taiwanese computer hardware maker has become the target of a boycott in mainland China, after calling Chinese manufacturing “low-quality” and touting its products as Taiwan-made.
In an advertisement for its latest laptop series that has since been taken down from its website, Gigabyte Technology, a Taipei-based manufacturer specialising in motherboards and graphical processing units (GPUs), said the company insists on making its products in Taiwan, where it boasted strict quality control.
“Unlike other brands that have opted for low-cost and low-quality contract manufacturing in China, Gigabyte Technology is committed to producing excellent and high-performing components and laptops,” the advertisement read. “As a Taiwan-based laptop and component manufacturer, we ensure that 90 per cent of our laptops are made locally in Taiwan.”
Gigabyte, which has been operating a factory in the eastern Chinese industrial hub of Ningbo since 2003, apologised soon after. The company said in a statement that it has always supported the “One China” principle – a political stance championed by Beijing that recognises mainland China and Taiwan as part of a single country.