TAIPEI -- The hefty financial penalties China imposed on a Taiwanese conglomerate that has donated to President Tsai Ing-wen's political party caught the island's business community by surprise as cross-strait tensions spill over to the economic realm.
The fines and extra taxes, totaling 474 million yuan ($74.1 million), are the results of an investigation launched against Far Eastern Group's subsidiaries operating in China. Authorities charge that those firms have violated rules in such areas as environmental protection protocols at factories.
