Taiwanese companies should assume their social responsibilities and play a “positive role” in promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said yesterday, amid a Chinese probe into Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, said that China’s tax and land-use investigations into Hon Hai’s operations are an example of Chinese election interference operations.
Asked about the investigation at a routine news conference in Beijing, TAO spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) did not confirm the probe or refer to Hon Hai, internationally known as Foxconn Technology Group.
Photo: Screengrab from office livestream
China’s policy of respecting, caring for and benefiting people from Taiwan would not change, and the government would as always support Taiwanese businesspeople and companies to invest, Zhu said.
She signaled that Beijing expected these companies to play a political role.
“While sharing development benefits and growth dividends on the mainland and achieving rapid development, Taiwan enterprises should also assume corresponding social responsibilities and play a positive role in promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations,” Zhu said.
On Tuesday, Lai hit out at China over its probe of Hon Hai, saying Beijing should “cherish” Taiwanese companies.
Zhu said Lai was “duping people” by both trying to “use weapons to seek independence” and also calling for dialogue.
“As pointed out by the media on the island, William Lai has now changing from a Taiwan-independence maniac to a Taiwan-independence liar,” she said.
Taiwan New Constitution Foundation president Sung Cheng-en (宋承恩) yesterday said the TAO’s response was “complex.”
The Chinese Communist Party is “officially” telling Hon Hai founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) to back off in his election bid, which is a blatant intervention into Taiwan’s election, Sung said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS