Taiwan elections: how Foxconn investigation could backfire on Beijing

A probe into Taiwanese tech giant has raised concerns that Beijing is trying to influence the island’s upcoming polls

But analysts have warned the move could have the opposite effect, spurring voters to back the independence-leaning DPP

Reading Time:4 minutes

Analysts say Beijing’s investigation into Taiwan tech company Foxconn could backfire by spurring voters to back the independence-leaning DPP. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00am, 28 Oct 2023Updated: 2:53pm, 28 Oct 2023

Beijing’s tax investigation of Apple supplier Foxconn might end up helping Taiwan’s pro-independence camp as it seeks to fan anti-mainland sentiment, observers say.

The Taiwanese technology company, also known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industry, is under tax and land use investigations at several of its subsidiaries in mainland China, according to Global Times, a nationalist paper affiliated with People’s Daily.

Beijing’s authorities have so far not officially confirmed whether Foxconn’s facilities in Jiangsu, Hunan and Hubei provinces are still being investigated, or whether the inspections have been completed.

Asked to comment on the move, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Council, merely said on Wednesday that mainland authorities “treat all enterprises equally in line with the law and regulations, and it is a normal law enforcement practice to carry out related investigations”.

In a statement on Sunday, Foxconn said its “fundamental principle is to comply with the law everywhere it operates in the world” and it would “actively cooperate with relevant units on the related work and operations”.

The investigation comes just 2½ months before the island’s presidential and legislative elections, and has raised concerns in Taiwan that it is not purely business-oriented but rather politically motivated.

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