China pressures Hon Hai to improve safety

The Chinese State Council’s Taiwan Affairs office said that Hon Hai Precision (HHPD.LSX; also traded as Foxconn, 2038.HK, 2317.TWSE) needs to improve its safety record after an explosion at one of its Chengdu factories, the Wall Street Journal reported. The statement came in a briefing by Fan Liqing, the organization’s spokesperson, who said that the Chinese government views the explosion as a “product-safety accident,” and that the Taiwanese firm should “draw lessons from the accident” to improve its safety record. While the remarks were relatively mild, it is a rare government rebuke of one of the largest manufacturing firms operating in China. Hon Hai has come under fire from labor groups, alleging that the firm had been warned before the explosion that better ventilation systems were needed at its Chengdu facilities. The explosion is being blamed on the accumulation of combustible dust in the plant.