Foxconn was suddenly investigated, and the island's eyes were on Gou, who was "helping" Lai Qingde's election?

Foxconn's sudden investigation is no accident, combined with the comprehensive analysis of the current media public opinion, there may be very complex factors behind this incident. When it comes to politics, public opinion on the island generally believes that this may be related to the current 2024 election on the island; In addition, Gou's personal unspoken remarks for electoral political interests are also important factors. Taiwan's "China Times" said that the heavy fines imposed on the Far East Group in 2021 and the punishment of the Haiba Group in 2016 have political factors - inseparable from the forces that promote "Taiwan independence". This time, the mainland has resorted to tax inspections and thunderbolt investigations, and I am afraid that Gou's candidacy for the island's leadership election will contribute to the suspicion of "Taiwan independence," because Lai Qingde will lie down and win in this process.

(i)

On October 22, a report by the Global Times suddenly aroused widespread attention from media on both sides of the strait. Foxconn was suddenly investigated, according to the Global Times, the national tax department conducted tax investigations on Foxconn Group's enterprises in Guangdong, Jiangsu and other regions, which is actually a tax audit. In addition, the national natural resources department investigated the use of Foxconn's enterprise land in Henan, Hubei and other places, and should check whether Foxconn had illegally occupied land.

Foxconn was suddenly investigated

From the perspective of ideal economy, Taiwan businessmen's investment in the mainland is a win-win result, first of all, investment will bring certain jobs and technical support, which will promote the mainland's economic development; Second, from the perspective of interests, those Taiwan businessmen are capitalists in the end, and they can be said to have made a lot of money in the process, and the huge market on the mainland has brought them huge benefits and made their wallets bulge.

From the perspective of cross-strait relations, Taiwan businessmen play a very important role in cross-strait economic and trade exchanges and exchanges. For example, in the process of investing in the mainland, Taiwan businessmen will further deepen exchanges with the mainland and have a deeper understanding of the mainland. Economic investment and huge profit income will make Taiwan businessmen more dependent on the mainland market, thus further promoting cross-strait integration.

Therefore, from these two perspectives, if there is no solid evidence, the state will not suddenly take action against Foxconn, from the technical analysis, it is obvious that Foxconn has big problems in taxation and production land. When it comes to taxation, the probability is tax evasion and tax fraud; If it comes to land use, it is not ruled out that Foxconn has secretly changed the nature of land use, such as changing production land into commercial land. However, these are only speculations, and the specific situation needs to wait for the official announcement.

When it comes to Foxconn, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is Gou, who was once the richest man in Taiwan. His Hon Hai Group is a very well-known enterprise in Taiwan, China, and its main business is electronic production and electronic assembly and processing. The biggest news about Gou recently is that he is stirring up the 2024 leadership election in Taiwan, and now he is actively co-signing, as an independent candidate, hoping to get a threshold vote in Taiwan that meets the threshold for running, Gou also set himself a goal: to exceed 1 million co-signatures.

Gou is stirring up elections on the island

In view of the important role of Taiwan businessmen in cross-strait relations, generally speaking, as long as Taiwan businessmen operate normally and lawfully in accordance with mainland law, they will not encounter problems. Judging from past experience, if the mainland suddenly makes a move against some Taiwan enterprises, it may not be simple behind it. In other words, in addition to whether normal business operations are legal, it is also necessary to look at the political background of this Taiwanese company.

To give one example: In November 2021, the Far Eastern Group in Taiwan was fined in the mainland for illegal acts in environmental protection and land use, and was required to rectify within a time limit. Afterwards, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said the following: Taiwan businessmen and enterprises should draw a clear line with the "Taiwan independence" forces.

Xu Xudong's Far East Group is also a well-known company on the island, and Xu Xudong himself is an important member of the rich list in Taiwan. Since the start of electoral politics in Taiwan, the smell of money has become stronger and stronger. In all the elections on the island, including the "nine-in-one" election and the election of the leader of the Taiwan region, enterprises on the island have actively donated money to politics for their own business interests and actively supported some candidates for the leadership of the People's Congress or the Taiwan region to serve their own interests.

The Far Eastern bloc plays very slippery in political contributions, what it does is to diversify investments, both blue and green support, all give money. For example, in the Green Camp, Xu Xudong used money to support Su Zhenchang's eldest daughter, Su Qiaohui, and Xu Xudong's political contributions were clearly visible in the New Taipei Citizens' Congress. In addition, during Chen Shui-bian's administration, Xu Xudong used money to open the way and hitched a ride with Chen Shui-bian's wife Wu Shuzhen through various connections, of course, in the process, Xu Xudong also bribed Chen Shui-bian a large amount of money for his own business interests.

The DPP "seeks independence by force," and Su Zhenchang and Chen Shui-bian and others are even more out-and-out "Taiwan independence" elements, and their vain intention to split the motherland's territory can be clearly seen. The mainland has given Taiwan businessmen full convenience in investment and the market, and Xu Xudong has naturally made a lot of money in this process; on the contrary, as the owner of the green camp, he went so far as to use the money earned from the mainland to support Su Zhenchang and his ilk, and this behavior is absolutely intolerable in order to help "Taiwan independence." When the mainland's punishment was promulgated, Xu Xudong immediately felt a sore spot, and afterwards expressed his opposition to "Taiwan independence," support for the "consensus of '92," and support for one China.

Xu Xudong is the patron of Green Camp

To expand further: Xu's example is a powerful microcosm. Hong Xiuzhu has openly said a big truth: The mainland has given the Taiwan region great benefits in the economic and trade fields, and has enabled the Taiwan region to gain sufficient benefits in cross-strait economic and trade exchanges through the policy of concessions. What did the Taiwan authorities do after they gained benefits from the mainland? With the money earned from the mainland, buying weapons from the United States, engaging in "Taiwan independence," plotting separatism, bribing US politicians, and colluding with the United States to contain the mainland. In addition, Taiwan has also set up many trade barriers to many exports from the mainland. This is standard ungratitude. Recently, public opinion on the island has paid great attention to ECFA, and it can only be said that what should come is always coming.

(ii)

From the example of the Far Eastern Group, looking at the sudden investigation of Foxconn this time, this has to make people speculate, is this also related to politics? Generally, when it comes to Taiwan enterprises that set up factories and invest in the mainland, Foxconn absolutely has to rank one in the minds of the people on both sides of the strait, and his reputation is also very large.

The Global Times quoted an expert as saying: While sharing the opportunities and dividends provided by the mainland, Taiwan enterprises should also assume certain social responsibilities and play a positive role in cross-strait peace. This is an important social clue, if applied to the Foxconn investigation, that is, Gou Taiming and his Hon Hai clique did not play a certain role in the peaceful development of the two sides of the strait.

Perhaps the outside world is very strange, didn't Gou Taiming step down as chairman of Hon Hai Group a few years ago? Is he still related to Foxconn? In addition, didn't Gou Taiming express his recognition of the "consensus of '92" and one China in the island's election campaign, and even said in the "Golden Gate Declaration" that he would promote cross-strait peace talks?

Let's start with the first question: now Gou has indeed retired, and he is no longer the chairman of Hon Hai Group, which Hon Hai Group has explained before. In fact, the operation of the enterprise is a very complex process, although Gou Taiming no longer holds the position of Hon Hai Group, but after all, he is the founder of Hon Hai Group, even if he retires, he still has an extraordinary influence on the daily operation of Hon Hai Group, which no one will doubt. Otherwise, when the media talks about Foxconn's investigation, the first thing that comes to mind is Gou.

The second question is the point, which brings us to Gou's political dreams. In electoral politics, it is not uncommon for businessmen to engage in politics, but the probability of success is actually not large, and the bigger the business CEO, the more difficult it is to get ahead in electoral politics. Throughout the history of the United States, several businessmen have been elected President of the United States; Looking at the election history in Taiwan since 1996, how many of Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou, and Tsai Ing-wen are successful businessmen? The current candidates, except for Gou Taiming, Hou Youyi, Lai Qingde, and Ke Wenzhe are not businessmen. Therefore, many capitalists and businessmen basically hide behind the scenes as financial masters. Gou, for example, has always been a big benefactor of the Kuomintang.

In recent years, Gou has had his own political dreams

But after real estate businessman Trump won the US presidential election in 2016, it had a huge impact on the business community, but it should be noted that not every businessman can repeat Trump's path. In any case, the impact of Trump's election went out, and Gou was moved. In 2019, he entered the White House to talk to Trump about his investment in the United States, and also told the latter that he wanted to choose the leader of Taiwan. Trump reminded him that this position is not easy to do. However, Gou did not listen, and finally gave party membership through special channels and successfully participated in the 2019 primary election of the Kuomintang. I have to say that having money can sometimes really make ghosts push the grind.

But in 2019, Gou met the rising Han Yu, and in the end, Gou lost and quit the Kuomintang angrily. At that time, Wu Dun-yi, Ma Ying-jeou and others wanted to form "Han Guo Ping", but Gou Taiming was used to being a domineering president, how could he be someone else's deputy, and finally directly broke up with the Kuomintang.

In 2022, the KMT won a big victory in the "nine-in-one" election, when the island was generally optimistic about the KMT's performance in the next 2024 Taiwan regional leadership election. At this time, Gou Taiming couldn't bear the loneliness and wanted to try again. At this time, in the Kuomintang primary, his opponent was Hou Youyi. In the past, Hou Youyi has always been outside the Kuomintang, for example, in the "Four Major Referendums" he was on the sidelines, and finally the Kuomintang failed to succeed, which made many people in the Kuomintang dissatisfied, plus Gou Taiming is a big funder, so within the Blue Camp, Gou Taiming also has a group of supporters.

Later, Zhu Lilun and Gou Taiming agreed on three chapters, allowing Hou Youyi and Gou Taiming to decide on the recruitment of candidates through polls. In May, the Kuomintang drafter was elected, Gou failed in the call-up, and Gou also promised to support Hou Youyi in the election. But then the situation changed, Hou Youyi could not go up the poll, was left behind by Lai Qingde and Ke Wenzhe, at this time Gou's heart moved again, and simply announced his independent candidacy. Now the election campaign on the island can be called a four-way melee, which is obviously conducive to Lai Qingde, as Ke Wenzhe said before: if Gou Taiming insists on running, then Lai Qingde will open champagne in advance to celebrate.

(iii)

From the microscopic perspective of the election on the island, it is Gou's proposition to advocate cross-strait peace, but he also often commits the disease of the green camp in the course of the election, and from time to time clamored to the mainland for some remarks that aggravated the situation.

For example, he clamored for the so-called "food and food" without hesitation; when preparing to run for the election, Gou even said that he would build 80,000 robots to fight against the People's Liberation Army, fight across the strait at one point, use his own private plane to transport supplies for the Taiwan military, and if the mainland wants to confiscate Hon Hai assets, he will say please.

While making huge profits from the mainland, on the other hand, it is constantly provoking, and it is reasonable for Foxconn to be investigated. However, Gou is not so politically mature, shouting for cross-strait peace while constantly shouting at the mainland, which is a very immature political manifestation.

On October 23, Taiwan's "China Times" published an article: Gou Taiming eats in a bowl and looks outside the bowl, so greedy and speculative, giving people a really bad impression. Although Gou has resigned from all positions in Hon Hai, it is still difficult for the outside world to completely separate him from Hon Hai or Foxconn Group. After all, Gou Taiming himself opened and closed his mouth, still looking like a leader in Hon Hai.

Gou Taiming once said in public: If the mainland still confiscates Foxconn's assets, okay, please. How does such a response convince the outside world that Gou has no impact on Hon Hai and Foxconn?

As soon as Gou's words came out, Hon Hai's stock price fell, and Hon Hai Group was anxious, saying that Gou Taiming had handed over the baton 4 years ago. In fact, I want to say that Hon Hai has nothing to do with Gou. Gou Taiming is accustomed to presenting himself as the boss of Hon Hai and Foxconn, and he does not hesitate to offend the mainland for the sake of the election, which eventually triggers the latter's warning. When the mainland wanted to check taxes and land, Gou Taiming was completely silent. Taiwan media said: Is Gou Taiming worthy of Hon Hai shareholders?

Taiwan media also said that pragmatically, tax evasion in the mainland is much more serious than in Taiwan. Taxation, is the state, stepping on the red line is stepping on the red line, tax evasion is a serious crime, even big-name artists have to be severely fined, jailed, blocked, Taiwan businessmen need to deal with it more carefully.

Gou said a lot of radical things in order to run

From a macro point of view, that is naturally the current election situation on the island. Foxconn was suddenly investigated, just when the election on the island entered a critical period, the integration of the non-green camp was at a critical stage, whether it could defeat the "Taiwan independence Jinsun" in the election and let the DPP step down, depending on whether the non-green camp could be integrated this time. Gou's candidacy will, in some cases, further distract the votes of the non-green camp, thereby benefiting Lai Qingde, and even directly allowing Lai Qingde to stabilize in power. Although the candidates this time are worse than the other, public opinion on the island has bluntly stated that elections on the island are no longer important to the mainland, but Zhao Chunshan, a think tank of the Kuomintang, once reminded that the mainland will never tolerate the DPP coming to power for another eight years. The island's "Wind Media" said that the mainland's sudden move on Foxconn may be a reminder to Gou to be cautious in the election, to think clearly, and to "have more room for turning." In fact, remind Gou Taiming not to do anything to guarantee Lai Qingde.

In addition to "Wind Media", Taiwan's "China Times" also has its own views. Wang Shangzhi, a senior media person on the island, wrote a book to the "China Times": Political tactics always have some "micro-expressions" or "subtext"! This is a kind of "action" that is not known to ordinary people, or is unwilling to overly alarm reality, and is more based on this to convey some specific "intentions".

Looking closely at the performance of the Americans, he actually supports Gou's independent candidacy, because the Americans already favor Lai Qingde to be elected. Although Gou's approval rating is low, only about 10%, he can spread the votes of the non-green camp. Rosenberg, president of the American Institute in Taiwan, said the United States does not take sides in elections on the island. But in fact, in every election on the island, the United States will say this, and he has never singled out who he will support, in order to show his very "fair" position.

As for the mainland, to tell the truth, the election in the Taiwan region is indeed no longer important to the mainland, and the mainland is not optimistic or expectant of these candidates, and even has the same attitude towards the "blue and white" combination. However, the director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and Xia Liyan, vice chairman of the Kuomintang, visited the Guandi Temple together, and if we see the mainland's sudden attack on Foxconn this time, it may mean that the mainland does not want to see the dispersal of the opposition forces on the island who want to remove the DPP.

On October 23, Taiwan's "China Times" said that the heavy fines imposed on the Far East Group in 2021 and the punishment of the Haiba Group in 2016 are all political factors - inseparable from the forces that promote "Taiwan independence". This time, the mainland has resorted to tax inspections and thunderbolt investigations, and I am afraid that Gou's candidacy for the island's leadership will contribute to the suspicion of "Taiwan independence," because Lai Qingde will win in this process.

Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao pointed out: If you want to integrate the non-green camp, it is bound to be Gou's piece of the puzzle, if the blue and white cannot be integrated in the end, it is bound to let Lai Qingde lie down and win, if Gou is willing to withdraw from the election and support one of the blue and white, Lai Qingde may not have a chance to win. Gou's attitude is one of the key factors influencing the election on the island.

Gou's candidacy is favorable to Lai Qingde

The reason why the mainland will suddenly make a move against Foxconn this time has attracted much attention, in fact, many eyes are aimed at the election on the island. There is another detail worth paying attention to: after the mainland Foxconn incident broke, Hon Hai's stock price fell by 3%, which just shows the close economic relationship between the two sides of the strait, otherwise Hon Hai's stock price would not have reacted like this.