By Holly Chik
Copyright scmp
Top scientist Yu Faxin, who develops chips for weapon systems, has been detained by anti-corruption authorities in central China, his Shanghai-listed company Zhejiang Great Microwave Technology said.
Yu is also a Qiushi distinguished professor at Zhejiang University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Hangzhou.
He is an expert in microwave and millimetre-wave radio frequency technology and has overcome technical hurdles in the areas of communication, navigation and radar tech. Yu also works on process technology for semiconductor materials including gallium nitride and gallium arsenide compounds, according to the university.
In a statement released on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday, Great Microwave Technology said it had “learned on September 21 from the family of Yu Faxin, the company’s actual controller and chairman, that Yu has been subjected to detention measures by the Supervisory Commission of Huangshi”.
It said while Yu was “temporarily unable to fulfil his responsibilities as the chairman”, the company would operate as normal with “other directors and senior management performing their duties normally”.
The statement did not give further details. The supervisory commission – a local branch of China’s top anti-graft watchdog in Huangshi, Hubei province – has not released a statement on the case.
Yu completed his studies, from undergraduate to PhD, in communication and information systems at the Harbin Institute of Technology. He went on to work at telecoms solutions provider UTStarcom and later joined Zhejiang University in 2006.
Yu founded Zhejiang Great Microwave Technology in 2015. In 2022, the Hangzhou-headquartered firm was listed on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style tech board, the Star Market.
The company said in its 2024 annual report that it was a major supplier of radio frequency transceivers and chips for wireless communication, power management integrated circuits for satellite communication and space target monitoring radar, as well as microsystems for data links.
In addition, it said its chips were widely used in military equipment, some of which was showcased in the 70th National Day military parade in 2019 and at exhibitions of military-civilian integration and hi-tech achievements.
“[Our products] provide effective communication support for the informatisation and modernisation of national defence, and play an important role in the rapid development of domestic equipment,” it said.
In the field of satellite internet, the company said its products had helped to reduce the size and weight of satellites and payload systems.
“The company has established itself as one of the most important suppliers of domestically produced basic components, with a significant advantage in both market share and positioning,” the annual report said.
In late August, Yu addressed a radar conference in Harbin, hosted by the Chinese Institute of Electronics, in his capacity as the chairman of an industry alliance, according to a social media post by the institute.
