Foxconn founder Terry Gou announces independent run in Taiwan's presidential election; vows to fix ties with China
Terry Gou, who founded Apple supplier Foxconn, has announced that he will run as an independent candidate in Taiwan's presidential election, scheduled to take place in September this year. Gou pledged to fix ties with China and added, "I will definitely not allow Taiwan to become the next Ukraine". Gou criticised the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, saying its policies have “brought Taiwan into the risk of war" with China.
In his maiden speech as a Presidential candidate, the Foxconn founder said Taiwan also needs new approaches to the economy and other matters at home. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is a major supplier to Apple and has many factories in China that manufacture iPhones. Terry Gou's is most in line with the Kuomingtang, the opposition party that is friendly to China.
The party believes that China and Hong Kong are together as part of one country, called the Republic of China. The Kuomingtang ruled over China in the early half of the 20th century before they lost a civil war to the Communist Party. They retreated to Taiwan in 1949, where they vowed to one day retake the republic.
Earlier also Gou stood on Taiwan's Presidential race. Gou lost in the Kuomingtang primary in 2019 and tried again this year, but the party selected New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih as its candidate. However, this time he is running as an independent candidate and he needs to gather public signatures to qualify for the ballot.
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