China arrests four Taiwanese Foxconn employees at Apple factory
Fear of "corporate detentions": In Zhengzhou, there has been a wave of arrests of Foxconn employees with Taiwanese passports. The background is "bizarre".
Still laughing here: Tim Cook at Foxconn in China a few years ago.
(Image: Apple)
There has been an incident involving Chinese security personnel at the world's largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times both report that a total of four employees of Taiwanese Apple manufacturer Foxconn were arrested. All four people had a Taiwanese passport. The Mainland Affairs Council, an institution in Taipei that handles relations between Taiwan and Beijing, stated that the accusations made against the individuals were "bizarre" and that such "unlawful deprivation of liberty" could "severely damage" investor confidence in China.
Death penalty for "Taiwan independence fanatics"
The incident is apparently linked to new measures taken by Beijing against so-called Taiwan independence fanatics, who the Chinese government is now even threatening with the death penalty. According to Taiwanese government circles, the new measures threaten "many people from Taiwan who work in the People's Republic". The semi-governmental organization Straits Exchange Foundation, which looks after business partnerships between Taiwan and the People's Republic, announced that it had met with Foxconn and the relatives of the four people in order to help them.
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According to the Mainland Affairs Council, the police in Zhengzhou announced last week that the employees had committed a "crime of breach of trust". Their employer does not see it that way. Foxconn has neither suffered a loss nor have its interests been harmed. The Taiwanese government suspects that the arrests could be related to "corruption or abuse of power" by the police authorities. So far, it is unclear what positions those arrested held at Foxconn, i.e. whether they were normal employees or part of the management.
Many people "disappeared" in China
It is unclear when the arrests took place and how long they have been going on. However, such incidents are not new. According to the Straits Exhange Foundation, 77 Taiwanese citizens have "gone missing" in mainland China since January. These are often cases of fraud, with some of the Taiwanese having been "lured" by criminals in China. Neither Foxconn nor Apple nor the police in Zhengzhou responded to inquiries from the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times last week.
China is taking an increasingly tough line on foreign investors. This has led to fraud and tax audits, including arrests and charges. However, Foxconn is hugely important for China. Several hundred thousand people are employed in the main iPhone production phase in Zhengzhou alone. Apple has been trying for some time to relocate parts of its production to India and elsewhere in order to be less dependent on China.
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