Four Taiwanese working for tech giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co in China have been detained, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said today, describing the circumstances as "quite strange."
The employees were detained by public security in the central city of Zhengzhou for the equivalent of "breach of trust" under Taiwan law, the council, said in a statement.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
"The circumstances surrounding this case are quite strange," the council said.
The firm known as Foxconn globally "has declared the company suffered no losses, and the four employees did not harm the company's interests in any way," it said, without providing details about when they were detained or their roles.
Hon Hai is the world's biggest contract electronics manufacturer and assembles devices for major tech companies, including Apple.
Most of its factories are in China, including Zhengzhou, which is dubbed "iPhone City" as the home of the world's biggest factory for the smartphone.
The Straits Exchange Foundation said the four detainees were Taiwanese.
The case "may involve corruption and abuse of power by a small number of public security officials, which has severely damaged business confidence," the council said.
"We urge the relevant authorities across the Strait to investigate and address the matter promptly," it added.
A Hon Hai spokesman declined to comment when contacted.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) said she was "not aware of the specific situation."
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