Taiwanese Vice President Criticizing China Over Foxconn Investigation

Vice President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-Te, (Photo: Twitter @chingtelai)

JAKARTA -Taiwan Vice President, Lai Ching -Te, on Tuesday, October 24, criticized China related to an investigation of Apple's main supplier, Foxconn. They stated that Beijing should "respect" Taiwan companies and not put pressure on them during the general election.

Foxconn is facing a tax investigation in China, as revealed by the two sources closest to the company on Monday, October 23. The source confirmed reports in the Global Times supported by the Chinese government.

These sources believe that the disclosure of the investigation is related to political reasons related to the Taiwan election in January, where the founder of the company, Terry Gou, nominated himself as an independent candidate for the President.

The Global Times in an English -language report published on Sunday 22 October stated that by running for nomination, Gou might break the votes of opposition, which has the potential to ensure victory for LAI who has led in the poll.

During this time China claimed Taiwan as its own territory, and Beijing really disliked LAI who was considered a person who wanted to separate. Lai stated that only the people of Taiwan could determine their future, and Beijing had refused his offer to speak.

Taiwan's main opposition party, Kuomintang, strongly refused to be considered pro-beijing, but had said that they would restart the conversation with China if they won and that they oppose formal independence for Taiwan.

In a press conference in Taipei, Lai said that China should "respect" Taiwan companies that had helped in the country's economic development. "During the election, China does not need to put pressure on Taiwan companies, asking them to declare positions, or even directly support the candidates they want," he said, as VOI quoted from Reuters.

Lai added that Taiwan companies would lose their confidence in China and if they were afraid, they would move their production to other places, which would be a big loss for China.

Foxconn has tried to diversify its manufacturing base outside China, such as in India, which according to one source may have put pressure on the company.

Gou has not yet commented on the investigation, and his campaign team directed questions to Foxconn and reminded that he was no longer involved in the company's daily management, even though he remained a big shareholder.

Gou cancels without explanation of a campaign event which was originally scheduled on Monday, and did not have an event planned for Tuesday, according to his media team.

Foxconn said in a statement on Sunday that legal compliance was the "basic principle" of its operations, and would "actively work together with related units in the work and related operations."

Foxconn shares continued to decline on Tuesday, with a decrease of 2.2% compared to an increase of 0.4% in the market wider.

Accusation of interference

Taiwan often accused China of trying to put pressure, both military and economically, to influence the results of the election for the sake of China. The bamboo curtain state government has not commented on the investigation of Foxconn.

A source of Taiwan's senior security, who spoke on anonymous condition because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said that the government's assessment was that senior Chinese leaders were not happy with this Global Times report.

This is because the investigation has been quickly responded by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, whose party leader is LAI, to accuse China trying to disrupt the election to get more support from voters, added the source.

The authority in China has not yet confirmed the investigation, which has not yet received further coverage in the media in the country.

In a separate event, former Taipei Mayor, Ko Wen-Je, who was running for a presidential candidate from the Taiwan People's Party and ranked second in many polls, said that China "who claimed to be a world force" should explain this investigation.

"The biggest problem in this case is that the Taiwan government has no way to communicate with mainland China on behalf of Taiwan companies," Ko said.

China has decided on the mechanism of routine conversation between government and Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-Wen was appointed in 2016.