{"id":288283,"date":"2023-10-23T10:02:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T14:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/?p=288283"},"modified":"2023-10-24T12:15:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T16:15:37","slug":"apple-contractor-foxconn-hit-with-tax-and-land-use-probe-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/2023\/10\/23\/apple-contractor-foxconn-hit-with-tax-and-land-use-probe-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple contractor Foxconn hit with tax and land-use probe in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chinese authorities have launched a probe into Taiwan-based Foxconn, the world\u2019s largest manufacturer of iPhones, Chinese state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times reported yesterday<\/a>. Officials have \u201cconducted tax inspections\u201d at the major Apple supplier\u2019s businesses in the provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu, and also carried out \u201con-site investigations into the land use\u201d of its operations in Henan and Hubei provinces.<\/p>\n

Apple’s and Foxconn\u2019s shares slipped on Monday. Foxconn\u2019s subsidiaries, such as the Taiwan-listed Foxconn Technology Co. and Shanghai-listed Foxconn Industrial Internet, also took a hit. \u201cMonday’s declines cut more than $5 billion off the companies’ combined market value, FactSet data showed,\u201d according to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Foxconn released a statement on Sunday<\/a>, saying, \u201cLegal compliance everywhere we operate around the world is a fundamental principle of Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn). We will actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chinese government has yet to officially comment.<\/p>\n

Election interference?<\/h3>\n

The probe comes just a few months after Foxconn\u2019s billionaire founder, Terry Gou (\u90ed\u53f0\u9298 Gu\u014d T\u00e1im\u00edng), announced<\/a> he would run in Taiwan\u2019s presidential elections. (He resigned from the company\u2019s board in September but is still the largest shareholder.)<\/p>\n

Gou has positioned himself as an alternative to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), pledging to bring peace between Taipei and Beijing. When he announced his candidacy, he said<\/a>, “If the Chinese Communist Party regime were to say, ‘If you don’t listen to me, I’ll confiscate your assets from Foxconn,’ I would say, ‘Yes, please, do it!’\u201d<\/p>\n

Beijing may doubly dislike Gou, 73, because he is expected to siphon votes away from the Kuomintang\u2019s (KTM) candidate, Hou Yu-ih<\/a> (\u4faf\u53cb\u5b9c H\u00f3u Y\u01d2uy\u00ed). In contrast with the DPP, the KMT has always favored closer relations with Beijing.<\/p>\n

Taiwan Deputy Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (\u912d\u6587\u71e6 Zh\u00e8ng W\u00e9nc\u00e0n) said Beijing’s aim is to “distort Taiwan’s democracy,” according to AFP<\/a>. \u201cIn a democratic country, choosing leaders and presidents should be done in an environment that is free from threats, incentives, interference, and distortion to freely express one’s will\u2026We do not want Chinese factors to influence the elections.”<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cWe believe that all Taiwanese businesses’ investments in China are in compliance with the law. They should not be subject to political scrutiny or political interference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Foxconn factory in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on October 23, 2023. Photo by CFOTO\/Sipa USA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The news may also shake the confidence of foreign firms in China during an already uncertain time. \u201cMy sense is that the core of the leadership really worries about foreign influence as dissent among elites is growing,\u201d Alicia Garcia Herrero, the chief Asia-Pacific economist at Natixis, told Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But Apple CEO Tim Cook was in China just last week, and was told by Chinese commerce minister W\u00e1ng W\u00e9nt\u0101o \u738b\u6587\u6d9b that Apple and other multinational companies are welcome to attempt \u201cwin-win\u201d collaborations<\/a>. Garcia-Herrero surmises, \u201cThe part of the leadership dealing with the economy and attracting foreign capital is not in the driving seat. So they can only watch and hope to minimize the damage by announcing the opening of certain sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, Chinese probes into companies have foreshadowed broader crackdowns,\u201d according to a Financial Times op-ed<\/a>. \u201cPolice recently raided the Shanghai offices of WPP-owned media agency GroupM and questioned staff at consulting group Bain. Beijing may be readying a push against foreign multinationals as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, Chinese authorities raided<\/a> the Beijing office of the U.S. due diligence and private investigations firm Mintz, detaining five local employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Taiwanese government came to the defense of Foxconn, the company that makes most of the world\u2019s iPhones, with some saying the move from Beijing constitutes election interference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19529,"featured_media":288285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12902],"tags":[14457,21599,13795,21600],"column":[],"class":[],"coauthors":[16447],"acf":[],"la_post_categories":{"politics-and-current-affairs":"Politics & Current Affairs"},"la_post_tags":{"foxconn":"Foxconn","probe":"Probe","taiwan":"Taiwan","terry-gou":"Terry Gou"},"content_writeup":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s what else you need to know about China today:<\/p>\n

China has officially sacked its defense minister L\u01d0 Sh\u00e0ngf\u00fa<\/strong> \u674e\u5c1a\u798f, two months after he vanished from public life<\/a>. Li and former Foreign Minister Q\u00edn G\u0101ng \u79e6\u521a, who was removed from his post in July<\/a> after disappearing for several weeks, have both also been removed from their positions on the State Council. State broadcaster CCTV announced the news today with no further explanation<\/a>, nor any announcement of a successor to Li.<\/p>\n

China’s top diplomat W\u00e1ng Y\u00ec \u738b\u6bc5 will visit the U.S.<\/strong> from October 26\u201328, the U.S. announced yesterday<\/a>. Wang was Foreign Minister from 2013 to 2022, and then resumed the role this year after Qin Gang\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n

Wang is expected to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. It has not been announced whether he will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

Wang\u2019s trip is the highest-level exchange in a series of in-person meetings aimed at paving the way for an expected meeting between Biden and Chinese counterpart X\u00ed J\u00ecnp\u00edng \u4e60\u8fd1\u5e73 in San Francisco in November. Today, a working group of American and Chinese officials held a \u201csubstantive, frank, and productive discussion\u201d during their first meeting via video link<\/a> to discuss economic topics, yet another small sign of improving ties between the two powers.<\/p>\n

Wang also met with his Bhutanese counterpart Tandi Dorji <\/strong>yesterday. The two foreign ministers discussed the \u201cconclusion of boundary negotiations and the establishment of diplomatic relations,\u201d according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

China does not have official diplomatic relations with the tiny Kingdom of Bhutan, though the two sides maintain contact through periodic visits by officials. They also share a disputed border that runs through Tibet, a key point of tension<\/a> which has never been officially recognized nor demarcated.<\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s President Gustavo Petro Urrego arrived in China today <\/strong>for his first state visit to the country since he took office, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced yesterday<\/a>. He is scheduled to meet with Chinese counterpart X\u00ed J\u00ecnp\u00edng \u4e60\u8fd1\u5e73 on Wednesday during his trip from October 24\u201326, during which they are expected to \u201cdraw a blueprint for the growth of bilateral relations\u201d and attend the signing ceremony of cooperation documents, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson M\u00e1o N\u00edng \u6bdb\u5b81 said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advertising giant WPP sacked a senior executive based in Shanghai<\/strong>, after Chinese police raided the Shanghai offices<\/a> of WPP-owned media agency GroupM and detained the unidentified employee and two others on suspicion of bribery last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are terminating the executive\u2019s employment with the company, and GroupM is suspending trade with any external organization we understand to be part of the police inquiries,\u201d the world\u2019s biggest ad agency said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s richest people have less money this year:<\/strong> 179 of the country\u2019s top ranking billionaires are no longer on a list from the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute<\/a>, which ranks China’s wealthiest people with a minimum net worth of 5 billion yuan ($690 million). Of those 179, 15% of them were in real estate, reflecting the country\u2019s beleaguered property sector.<\/p>\n

“Whilst the number of dollar billionaires from China has dropped by 51 in one year and 290 in two years, it is worth noting that China is still the ‘billionaire capital of the world’ with 895 billionaires, almost 200 ahead of the U.S. and more than triple the number in India,” the report’s chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogeweft said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Weibo, China’s X-like social media platform, plans to display the real names of top influencers<\/strong> to the public, Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times reported last week<\/a>. The move, which the report stated is aimed at \u201cfurther curbing cyberspace chaos,\u201d has stirred up heated debate among Chinese internet users.<\/p>\n

Last week, Weibo\u2019s CEO W\u00e1ng G\u0101of\u0113i \u738b\u9ad8\u98de announced<\/a> that users with more than 1 million followers will be required to reveal their identities on their profiles. \u201cI\u2019m testing out the controversial function myself first,\u201d he said in a Weibo post on October 20 in response to user inquiries. Weibo has not officially announced the changes.<\/p>\n

Cathay Pacific will cancel all flights between Tel Aviv and Hong Kong<\/strong> until the end of the year because of the war between Israel and Hamas, the latest airline to cancel flights operating in and out of the area. \u201cIn view of the ongoing situation in Israel, all Cathay Pacific flights between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv from today up to and including December 31, 2023 will be canceled,\u201d the Hong Kong-based airline said in a statement<\/a> on its website. Last week, China urged its nationals in Israel<\/a> to book commercial flights back home.<\/p>\n

Notable reads: <\/strong>China\u2019s Age of Malaise<\/a> is an excellent new piece from Osnos, author of China\u2019s Age of Ambition<\/em>, about the lowered expectations and gloom that have beset entrepreneurs and many urbanites in Xi Jinping\u2019s China.<\/p>\n

Chinese state media: <\/strong>Xinhua News Agency’s top story<\/a> is titled \u201cXi Jinping sent a letter to congratulate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operating under the United Front, a Communist Party organization that seeks to align non Party members and groups with Party objectives, the Federation was set up in 1953 to bring capitalists into the communist fold, and still functions as a tool for the Party to monitor private sector players and ensure their compliance.<\/p>\n

The People\u2019s Daily today continues the propaganda we noted yesterday<\/a> about trade unions and the role of women; the two top stories are about the 13th National Congress of Chinese Women opening in Beijing<\/a>, and Xi Jinping giving a speech to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions<\/a> in which he urged delegates to \u201cuphold the Party’s overall leadership over the trade unions and organize and mobilize hundreds of millions of workers to actively participate in building a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation.\u201d<\/p>\n

English-language state media today is focusing on the International Symposium to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of China\u2019s Principle of Amity, Sincerity, Mutual Benefit and Inclusiveness in Neighborhood Diplomacy, which took place today in Beijing. Xinhua titled its story on the event: \u201cXi vows China’s continued efforts to help build peaceful, prosperous Asian homeland<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288283"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19529"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288283"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=288283"},{"taxonomy":"class","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/class?post=288283"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=288283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}