Xu Mingtian, an economics author and researcher from Peking University, has written a book called "Terry Kuo and Foxconn" to help reverse the public's negative perception of Taiwan's Foxconn and its CEO Terry Kuo following allegations of poor corporate responsibility in 2006.
In early 2007, Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper published a report on how Foxconn's factory in Shenzhen was exploiting Chinese workers who were manufacturing Apple iPods. As a result of this report and the subsequent reports covered by Chinese media, Foxconn had a public relations crisis. Though the company later clarified that the British report was untrue, it could not end the public's continuing distrust.
Xu said at a press conference for the unveiling of the book that his inspiration for writing came from the public rebuke of Foxconn. He said he knew much about Foxconn and understood that many people criticized it without knowing the full facts. Xu believes Foxconn is a top enterprise in China and says denying it is to deny China's manufacturing industry prowess. Xu believes Chinese companies should study Foxconn and learn from it.
Xu also provided some information to refute rumors about the low wages at Foxconn. He said that Foxconn paid a reasonable salary to its employees plus many other benefits, and compared with other companies, Foxconn is providing better welfare service to its employees. Xu emphasized that he wrote the book from the prospective of an economics writer, and he denied that he had been paid by Foxconn to write the tome.