Beijing’s investigation of Foxconn may be “politically motivated”.
China is investigating Apple’s iPhone assembler Foxconn in a campaign that some have considered “politically motivated.”
Global Times, the Chinese state media outlet, reported on Sunday, citing sources, that tax authorities in the mainland were investigating Apple’s iPhone assembler Foxconn, a Taiwanese company, at their locations in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces. The outlet reported another on-site investigation into Foxconn’s land use in Henan and Hubei provinces.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, but Beijing has never governed the self-administered island. In recent years, China has launched an escalating coercion campaign against Taiwan, taking the form of military drills, including a simulated blockade, ballistic missile overflights, and a rising number of warplane sorties in the skies around Taiwan.
Foxconn has said in a statement, “We will actively cooperate with the relevant authorities’ operations.”
“Complying with laws and regulations is a basic principle for the group worldwide,” Foxconn added.
Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s vice president and the primary presidential candidate for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said on Sunday during a campaign event that Foxconn should receive support at home amid the tax investigation in China.
Lai said at the event that it’s up to the Taiwanese companies “to choose which countries they want to invest in, and regardless of where they decide to go, the government and the people (of Taiwan) should support them.
