TAIPEI: Taiwan defended tech giant Foxconn on Monday (Oct 23) after China launched an investigation into several of the firm’s sites, saying that Taiwanese businesses should not be subjected to “political interference”.
Chinese authorities are inspecting Foxconn’s sites in southern Guangdong province and Jiangsu in the east, as well as carrying out on-site investigations into the company’s land use in central Hunan and Hubei provinces, China’s state-run Global Times reported on Sunday.
It did not specify what authorities are looking into, nor any offences that Foxconn may have committed.
Taiwan-based Foxconn is one of the world’s largest contract producers of electronics and a key supplier of Apple’s iPhones.
The investigation comes as self-ruled Taiwan – which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to seize one day – prepares for presidential elections in January.
Taiwan’s Deputy Premier Cheng Wen-tsan said on Monday that Beijing’s aim is to “distort Taiwan’s democracy”.
“In a democratic country, choosing leaders and presidents should be done in an environment that is free from threats, incentives, interference, and distortion to freely express one’s will,” he said.
“We do not want Chinese factors to influence the elections.”
Source: CNA
