Possible Arbitrary Detention?
According to the Wall Street Journal, these employees are accused of a violation akin to breach of trust, yet the specific nature of these allegations has not been clearly defined. The office, however, suspects these reasons to be rather vague, and leans more towards the belief that this is a political maneuver, considering that this inappropriate detention … could significantly damage investor confidence in China
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The Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou, also known as the “iPhone city,” is Apple’s largest assembly site, accounting for 80% of the global iPhone production. Beyond this statistic, it operates almost like an independent town. With about 300,000 employees, it is essentially a city in its own right.
During the Covid era, the Chinese government was uncompromising and implemented a closed-loop production system, allowing employees to live around the clock within the factory premises to prevent any risk of the virus spreading outside the site.
The iPhone City at Risk
The stakes are incredibly high for both Foxconn and Apple, given the Zhengzhou site’s economic significance to the iPhone’s success. The Taiwanese company’s rise began in the early 2000s, when Cupertino launched the very first iPod. The explosive success of the mp3 player required exceptional manufacturing capabilities that only Foxconn could assure for Steve Jobs.
Similarly, for Taiwanese citizens working in China, the risks are escalating amid rising geopolitical tensions. The detention of key personnel could disrupt production and lead to serious uncertainties about ongoing operations in China. This isn’t the first time Foxconn has faced challenges in the country. In 2023, the Chinese authorities investigated the company during the political campaign of Terry Gou for the presidency of Taiwan.
The relations between China and Taiwan have grown increasingly strained over the years, with an armed conflict becoming a potential outcome. In the event of an invasion of Taiwan, TSMC has already announced it has the capability to remotely disable all the advanced machinery used in its factories—even going so far as to activate a kill switch to destroy them and protect the technologies.