Four employees of Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn were arrested in China, Taiwanese authorities announced Friday, describing the circumstances of their arrest as “strange”.
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The four employees were arrested in the city of Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, for what amounted to a “breach of trust” in Taiwanese law, the Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan said in a statement. Taiwan, which handles cases between the two sides of the strait.
“The circumstances surrounding this affair are quite strange,” said this body, which did not provide details on the identity of the employees or their position.
According to this Council, Foxconn “declared (…) that the four employees had in no way harmed the interests of the company” and that the company had “recorded no losses”.
The case could be linked to “corruption and abuse of power by a small number of public security officials, which has seriously damaged confidence in business,” he said. the Council.
“We urge relevant authorities across the Strait to investigate this matter and promptly handle it,” he added.
According to the Straits Exchange Foundation, a semi-official Taiwanese organization responsible for technical and trade relations with China, all four employees are Taiwanese.
Contacted by AFP, a Foxconn spokesperson declined to comment.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said she was “not aware of this specific situation.”
Foxconn, also known by its official name “Hon Hai Precision Industry”, is a key supplier to major global tech companies, including Apple.
Most of its factories are located in China, notably in Zhengzhou, nicknamed “iPhone City”, because it is home to the largest Foxconn factory producing the brand’s famous phones.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and says it is ready to reconquer the island by force if necessary.
However, many Taiwanese companies have moved to China over the past 40 years to set up factories and take advantage of lower operating costs.
