Foxconn is undergoing tax and property investigation in China, raising suspicions of political motivation as founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) runs for the Taiwanese presidency.
Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said in an interview at the IWA-ASPIRE Conference & Exhibition 2023 that she could not confirm whether there is any political relevance. She stated that the Economic Affairs Ministry is more concerned that businesses are not subject to any interference.
However, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research analyst Darson Chiu (邱達生) points out that the investigation into Foxconn is contradictory to China’s recent changes to policy and is difficult to explain in terms of economic motivation. Chiu says that China's previous policies and regulations have scared away foreign businesses. He emphasizes that its current economy is weak and, as a response, the Chinese side has put forward a number of measures to attract foreign investment in the hope of revitalizing it. He says that the Foxconn audit will again raise nervousness in foreign investors.