Four Taiwanese employees of Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, the primary assembly partner of Apple Inc. AAPL, have been detained by the Chinese police.
What Happened: The employees were apprehended in Zhengzhou, a central mainland Chinese city, where Hon Hai operates the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said that the charges against them are breach of trust, as stated by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, reported the South China Morning Post.
The council, citing information from the company, stated that the employees’ actions did not harm Hon Hai’s interests. It suggested that the incident might be a case of local police officers overstepping their authority.
According to local Taiwanese media, the detentions occurred earlier this year. However, the exact reason for the move remains unclear. The detained employees are all Taiwanese, confirmed by Elsie Tsai, a spokeswoman for Taiwan’s semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation, the report said.
Foxconn did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.
Why It Matters: The recent detentions are part of a series of aggressive actions taken by Beijing against the staff of foreign firms. In August, an executive at Japanese drug maker Astellas Pharma was indicted for espionage.
Earlier in 2023, Beijing fined US-based Mintz Group about $1.5 million for illegal data collection and detained five of its Chinese employees. Similar incidents occurred in 2023, including the questioning of staff at the Shanghai office of American consultancy Bain & Company by Chinese authorities.
These detentions come amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan. Earlier this month, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te firmly asserted that it is "absolutely impossible" for Communist China to claim Taiwan as its motherland.
Despite the tensions, a majority of Taiwanese citizens believe a Chinese invasion is unlikely within the next five years, according to a poll conducted by Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research. This sentiment reflects the current views in Taiwan regarding potential military threats from China.
U.S. President Joe Biden also approved $567 million in defense support for Taiwan, aiming to strengthen its military capabilities amid rising concerns over China's intentions.
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This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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