Taiwan vice president hits out at China over its tax probe of Foxconn

Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te on Tuesday (Oct 24) hit out at China over its tax investigation of iPhone maker Foxconn, saying that the Chinese government should cherish companies and not put pressure on them during an election. Speaking to reporters, Vice President Lai said, "During an election, China does not need to put pressure on Taiwanese companies, demanding they declare a position, or even that they directly support a candidate they prefer."

Taiwanese companies will lose their confidence in China and if they feel scared will shift production elsewhere, which will be a big loss to China, Lai added.

Last Sunday, Chinese state media reported that Foxconn was subjected to tax inspections, with authorities searching its offices in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces. China's ministry of natural resources also inspected Foxconn's offices in Henan and Hubei provinces, where it has major offices.

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Foxconn does the vast majority of its manufacturing in China and employs hundreds of thousands of workers across the country. More details about the searches were not known including when they were carried out or what was found.

In a statement, Foxconn said, "Legal compliance everywhere we operate around the world is a fundamental principle of Hon Hai Technology Group." "We will actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations," the statement added.

Taiwan is set to hold presidential elections next year with Vice President Lai (who is leader of the Democratic Progressive Party) being a frontrunner. In August, Foxconn's founder Terry Gou that he would be a frontrunner in next year's presidential elections. He then resigned from his seat on the board of Foxconn.

The other presidential candidates are Hou Yu-ih of the main opposition Kuomintang Party and Ko Wen-je from the small Taiwan People's Party.

On Tuesday, Ko Wen-je said that the Foxconn investigation reflects Taiwan's predicament as a "world orphan" due to deteriorating cross-strait relations with China.

"The biggest problem... is that the Taiwanese government has no way to communicate with China on behalf of Taiwanese companies," he said at a briefing with foreign media in Taipei.

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