Preston Pugh* and Calvin Lee were quoted on the arrest warrants issued for three Taiwanese nationals charged with trade-secret theft after failing to appear for their arraignments in U.S. v. United Microelectronics Corp. As the first case filed under the Trump administration's "China Initiative," a special program targeting trade-secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage, there may be "political pressure to do something about this case and chalk up a win," Lee said.

Pugh, a former prosecutor, stated that the U.S. has an obligation to go after the accused no matter how difficult it may be to get the men into a U.S. court. "They can't lay down and not do anything about it," Pugh said. He added the Justice Department may ask Taiwan to extradite the men "in return for the U.S. doing if not the same, some other gesture. This is not an off-the-shelf agreement, and not one that happens often but it has happened."

*Former Miller & Chevalier attorney