Recently abundant evidence from surface geologic investigation has been cited to identify an active fault which happens to pass through a major computer-manufacturing area in northern Taiwan. Great public concern has arisen as a consequence. In this paper, we use '1 sec' high-resolution shallow seismic reflection sections to examine the near-surface structure of this fault. The results, however, do not support the geologic observations. A folding above a shallow decollement was found in the fault's northern portion, which may include shallow minor faulting. In the remaining portion, the structural layers were found to lie flat without offsets, except for slight buckling. The fault could have displacements at deeper places ('blind thrust'?), but the shallow parts do not seem much affected. These results indicate that the threat of active faulting in the area is actually less than previously feared.