Taipei, Taiwan – Four Taiwanese employees of Foxconn, a major supplier for Apple, have been detained in China since January, according to Taiwan’s national news agency. The workers were apprehended in Zhengzhou, home to Foxconn’s largest iPhone factory, by the local public security bureau for alleged “breach of trust,” as reported by Central News Agency (CNA) on Thursday, citing the Taiwanese government.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) noted that Foxconn stated its employees had not harmed the company’s interests and suggested the possibility of corruption or abuse of power among some police officers. The MAC described the situation as “quite strange” and emphasized that it has “severely damaged business confidence.”
This incident underscores the growing risks for Taiwanese individuals working in China. Last month, a court in Wenzhou sentenced Taiwanese independence activist Yang Chih-yuan to nine years in prison for secession, marking a notable prosecution. Additionally, a Formosa Plastics executive was detained while attempting to leave China.
In June, the MAC raised the travel alert for China, Hong Kong, and Macau from “yellow” to “orange,” advising citizens against “unnecessary travel” due to stringent national security and anti-espionage laws. Taiwan’s National Security Bureau reported that, over the past year, 15 citizens have been detained or put on trial in China, with 51 interrogated at the border.
Beijing claims Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, as one of its provinces, while Taipei insists on its sovereignty. The number of Taiwanese living and working in China has sharply declined since the Beijing-skeptical Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2016, reflecting deteriorating cross-strait relations
