Foxconn's Terry Gou Makes Taiwanese Presidential Bid

Gou has announced he wants to run in Taiwan elections

The upcoming Taiwan presidential elections next year are going to be very interesting now that Foxconn founder Terry Gou has thrown his hat into the ring.

For months he has kept political pundits guessing, but now that he has made the announcement, the jockeying for power can begin in earnest, though some experts think the businessman does not have much of a chance.

That's because he is running as an independent and will need signatures of 1.5 per cent of Taiwan's voting population, or 290,000.

As for his platform, Gou aims to unify the opposition to defeat the governing Democratic Progressive Party led by Tsai Ing-wen, who has led Taiwan for two terms and cannot seek another.

He made his wealth from Foxconn factories

He criticised the DPP for its policies of bringing "Taiwan into the risk of war" with China, as it threatens to take back the territory it has claimed is its own.

"I will definitely not allow Taiwan to become the next Ukraine," Gou said.

He also said Taiwan needs new strategies for economic development and for issues at home.

"Domestically, the national policy direction is filled with all sorts of mistakes. There's no way to solve the difficulties of Taiwanese industry and people's livelihoods."

Politically he is more aligned with the Kuomingtang, who ruled China in the first half of the 20th century, then lost to the Chinese Communists in 1949 and fled to Taiwan ever since, and vowing to take back the mainland one day.

However the Kuomintang is worried Gou is splitting the vote of its own party, even though he claims to be uniting the opposition party. 

Gou has made his wealth from Foxconn, the main supplier to Apple that has many factories in China that produce iPhones.

One wonders what Beijing thinks of this entrepreneur friendly to China, running to become president of Taiwan...

Lai of DPP is leading in the polls

But for now Gou's immediate task is to find the 290,000 signatures he needs to qualify as an independent. 

According to Wang Yeh-lih, a professor of politics at National Taiwan University says Gou has never garnered more than 20 percent of support that put him in the running with three other candidates: former Taipei city mayor Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party, and current Vice President Lai Ching-te of the DPP, and new Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih for the KMT.

Lai is the frontrunner, with Ko and Hou trailing.

Nevertheless, one can't dismiss Gou just yet -- with Taiwanese politics, anything can happen from now until voting day on January 13, 2024.