Four employees of Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that makes iPhones, have been detained by Chinese authorities under “strange” circumstances, according to Taipei.
According to a statement from Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the workers were detained in Zhengzhou, Henan province, on suspicion of “breach of trust.”.
Foxconn has been reached by the BBC for a statement.
With significant production facilities in China, the firm is the world’s largest employer and the leading supplier of iPhones to the US tech giant Apple.
Taiwanese officials speculated that Chinese police officers may have “abused their power” in these detentions.
and claimed that the case damages the trust of companies doing business in China.
China’s land and tax authorities opened an inquiry into the company in October of last year.
Back then, Foxconn’s founder, Terry Gou, was running as an independent candidate in Taiwan’s presidential election.
Taiwan has issued an advisory to its nationals to “avoid non-essential travel” to Hong Kong, Macau, and the mainland following China’s June release of guidelines outlining the harsh penalties that will be inflicted on anyone who Beijing characterizes as ardent “Taiwan independence” separatists.
The largest iPhone plant in the world, Foxconn’s Zhengzhou location is referred to as “iPhone City” for good reason.
Even though Beijing and Taipei have a protracted geopolitical schism, Foxconn is one of several Taiwanese companies that have established plants in China.
Beijing views the island as a province that broke away and will one day become a member of its own nation; it has not ruled out using force to this end.
However, a large portion of Taiwanese people believe they belong to a different country, even though the majority support the status quo, where Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.
(BBC)
