Taiwan: Foxconn Founder Announces Presidential Bid

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Facts

  • Foxconn founder Terry Gou announced on Monday for Taiwan's presidency in the Jan. 2024 election, saying he wanted to unite the opposition and ensure that Taiwan doesn't become "the next Ukraine."1
  • Gou, who is a billionaire, stepped down from his position at Foxconn in 2019 to pursue a nomination for the Kuomintang (KMT) — an opposition party that historically favors close ties with China.2
  • Gou had earlier announced his intention to run for president but was sidelined when the KMT chose New Taipei City mayor Hou Yu-ih as its candidate. Gou must collect 290K signatures by Nov. 2 to qualify to run as an independent candidate for the office.3
  • At Monday's press conference, Gou said: "I implore the people of Taiwan to give me four years. I promise that I will bring peace to the Taiwan Strait for the next 50 years and lay the deepest foundation of mutual trust between the two sides."4
  • In July, Gou criticized the ruling DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] over the US's role in exacerbating regional tensions and urged Washington to engage with Beijing under the one-China framework.5
  • Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate for the DPP, is currently leading in the polls. Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party has typically been polling second, with KMT's Hou farther behind in third place.6

Sources: 1Reuters, 2CNBC, 3Al Jazeera, 4France 24, 5Time, and 6AsiaOne.

Narratives

  • Pro-China narrative, as provided by AsiaOne. In the past seven years, the Democratic Progressive Party has led Taiwan to the brink of war. If Foxconn's billionaire founder Terry Gou wins the upcoming election, he has promised to bring 50 years of peace to the Taiwan Strait and build the deepest foundation of trust throughout the region. Gou's vision would bring deep stability to the region in a complex multipolar world.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Taiwan News. Gou's appeasement to Beijing is deeply problematic. It is not in Taipei's interests — nor in the interest of the global community — for a presidential candidate to be platforming geopolitically destabilizing PRC talking points. Unlike Gou, the DPP believes in defending national sovereignty, democracy, and freedom — which is why the DPP holds a strong lead in the polls.

Predictions