China Detains iPhone Maker Workers In 'Strange' Case

Chinese police have detained four workers of the Taiwanese iPhone maker, Foxconn, in circumstances Taipei has described as "strange."

The arrests preceded Apple having announced strong China sales for the iPhone 16. I Photo: Steve Jurvetson Flickr

The employees were arrested in Zhengzhou, Henan province, on "breach of trust" charges, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said, João da Silva reported for BBC News.

The company is the biggest maker of iPhones for U.S. technology giant Apple and is one of the largest employers in the world, with major manufacturing facilities in China.

Taiwanese authorities suggested the detentions may be a case of "abuse of power" by Chinese police officers and said the case undermines the confidence of businesses operating in China.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said they were not aware of the matter. In October last year, China's tax and land authorities launched an investigation into the company.

At that time, Foxconn's founder, Terry Gou, was running as an independent candidate in Taiwan's presidential election.

Taiwan has urged its citizens to "avoid non-essential travel" to the mainland as well as Hong Kong and Macau after China unveiled guidelines in June detailing criminal punishments for what Beijing described as diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists.