Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday hit out at China over its probe of major Apple supplier Foxconn, saying that Beijing should “cherish” Taiwanese companies and not put pressure on them during an election campaign.
Foxconn is facing a tax probe in China, two sources close to the company said on Monday, confirming a report in China’s state-backed Global Times.
The sources said they believed it was disclosed for political reasons tied to Taiwan’s elections in January, with the company’s founder, Terry Gou (郭台銘), running as an independent candidate for president.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
China should “cherish and treasure” Taiwanese companies, given how much they have helped that country’s economic development, Lai told a news conference in Taipei when asked about Beijing’s probe into Foxconn.
“During an election, China does not need to put pressure on Taiwanese companies, demanding they declare a position, or even that they directly support a candidate they prefer,” said Lai, who is the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate.
Taiwanese companies will lose confidence in China and if they feel scared, they will shift production elsewhere, which would be a big loss to China, he said.
Foxconn, which is known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co in Taiwan, has been pushing to diversify its manufacturing base outside China to places such as India, which one of the sources said might have contributed to Beijing placing pressure on the company.
Gou has not commented on the probe, with his campaign team referring questions to Foxconn and saying that he is no longer involved in the company’s day-to-day running, although he remains a big shareholder.
Foxconn said in a statement on Sunday that legal compliance was a “fundamental principle” of its operations, and it would “actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations.”
Taiwan frequently accuses Beijing of seeking to exert pressure, whether military or economic, to sway the outcome of its elections to ensure an outcome favorable to China, whose government has not commented on the Foxconn probe.
One senior Taiwanese security source, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, told reporters that the government’s assessment was that China’s senior leadership was not happy with the Global Times story.
This is because the probe has been jumped on so quickly by the DPP, of which Lai is chairman, to accuse China of seeking to interfere in the election in a bid to win more support from voters, the source said.
Authorities in China have not yet confirmed the probe, which has not received further media coverage within the country.
Speaking at a separate event, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is second to Lai in many polls, said that China, “which claims to be a world power,” should explain the investigation.
“The biggest problem in this matter is that the Taiwanese government has no way to communicate with the mainland on behalf of Taiwanese companies,” Ko said.
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