Central News Agency (CNA) - Taipei, July 1 -- Legislator Chung Chia-pin of the Democratic Progressive Party urged on Thursday that Taiwan's laws be amended to tighten controls on semiconductor exports to China. He questioned the current regulations, which only restrict 12 categories of semiconductor equipment to China, a stark contrast to the tens of thousands of items controlled for other regions. Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin responded that the Ministry of Economic Affairs will review the current 12 export control items to China, given the changed international environment, and may add to them. However, he noted that amending such regulations involves multiple government agencies, and the ministry will conduct further research. The Legislative Yuan's Economic Committee held a special report on "Comprehensive Review of Conflict of Interest Regulations in the Review Mechanisms for Subsidies and Investment Projects by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the National Development Council." During his questioning, Chung Chia-pin pointed out that the export control regulations for strategic high-tech goods (SHTC) announced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in February listed China and five other regions as subject to control. However, in reality, only 12 types of semiconductor wafer manufacturing equipment are restricted from export to China. Compared to the tens of thousands of controlled items for other regions, this is akin to "leaving a backdoor open." Kung Ming-hsin replied that the original regulations were primarily aimed at preventing the transfer of Taiwan's high-end semiconductor manufacturing capabilities to China. However, he admitted that the current international environment is different from that time, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs agrees that a review is necessary. The 12 controlled items will be re-evaluated, and may even be increased depending on the situation. Chung Chia-pin stated that the Taiwan-US Trade Agreement (ART) requir