A billionaire who made his own wealth and is in his seventies, and has little experience in politics, has decided to join one of the most important presidential elections of 2024. This has caused a big change in the race, which could have significant effects even outside the country.
Terry Gou, the person who started the biggest company that makes iPhones called Foxconn, said on Monday that he wants to be the president of Taiwan again. A lot of other people who like China are already running for president, but Terry Gou wants to challenge the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who want Taiwan to be separate from China.
Tsai Ing-wen is the current president, but she can’t run for another term because there is a limit. The DPP has been in power for eight years under her leadership. If the party wins for a third time, it would be something that has never happened before in the 27 years of democracy on the island.
The upcoming election, scheduled for January, is happening at a tense time between Taiwan, an island with 24 million people, and China, a powerful neighboring country. China believes that Taiwan is its rightful territory and is willing to use force if needed to take control.
Tensions are very high between China and an island because China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is sending more and more warships and fighter jets to the island, making people worried.
Many people are increasingly worried about the possibility of China attacking another country, especially after Russia invaded Ukraine. Despite this, China has refused to criticize Russia and has actually become closer to them.
There hasn’t been such a big possibility of a conflict during a Taiwan election since 1996. Back then, China shot missiles at Taiwan to scare voters from supporting a candidate who wanted Taiwan to be separate from China. That decision ended up going very wrong, but the candidate still won.
With the increasing possibility of an invasion, Taiwan’s foreign policy, particularly its relationship with China, has become a major concern in the presidential race. This is in addition to other important topics like the economy and the rising cost of living.
Candidates who are against the ruling party, including Gou, criticize the DPP for causing problems with Beijing and increasing disagreements. They say that this election is a decision between wanting conflict or wanting harmony.
Meanwhile, the DPP’s candidate, Vice President Lai Ching-te, has described the election as a decision between a government that values people’s freedom and a government That is run by a single ruler with strict control over everything.
Don’t let fear or the higher risk of authoritarianism make you give up or go backwards. He said that we have to be brave and strong in order to keep developing Taiwan’s democracy. He said this while he was traveling through the United States last month, even though Beijing criticized the trip.
Lai is a politician who used to be a doctor and went to Harvard. He belongs to a group in the DPP called “deep green,” which supports independence more openly.
This has made him a problem for Beijing, who often criticized him as a “separatist” and “troublemaker. ” In 2017, Lai angered Chinese officials by describing himself as someone who works practically towards Taiwan’s independence.
Since Lai became the DPP nominee, he has changed his opinions and now supports maintaining the current state of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. This choice has been favored by most people according to opinion polls, although the younger generation on the island is increasingly supporting complete freedom from China.
Gou needs to gather around 290,000 signatures by November so he can be a candidate on the ballot. In the past few months, he has organized events similar to political campaigns all over Taiwan to gain support for his bid.
His campaign is focused on one main idea: in order to prevent a war with China, the DPP needs to be removed from power.
Gou is proud of his many years of experience in dealing with Chinese officials. He believes that Taiwan should follow a “one-China framework” and begin discussions with Beijing right away.
He became successful in his business because there was improvement in the relationship between Taiwan and China.
Foxconn started its first factory in Shenzhen in 1988. It has been really important for China’s changes and growth because it brought new businesses, money, and technology to China’s young economy. The big electronics company now has large factories that hire many people in different parts of China.
Gou’s successful business empire in Taiwan has made him extremely wealthy, with a net worth of approximately US$7 billion. This has also boosted his confidence to make significant commitments.
Gou announced on Monday that he plans to run for office. He promises to make Taiwan’s economy grow faster and avoid the same problems as Ukraine.
“He said that if you give me four years, I guarantee to bring 50 years of peace to the Taiwan Strait. ”
This is a strong statement to make, especially for a businessman who has previously had good relations with China’s ruling Communist Party. Gou is the only person who has met and greeted Xi by shaking hands. In 2014, the Chinese leader welcomed him at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse when he visited Beijing.
However, some people think that because Foxconn has invested a lot of money in China, Gou may be influenced by China’s demands. Gou has strongly denied this idea.
Gou said that if the Chinese Communist Party threatened to take away Foxconn’s assets if people didn’t obey them, he would agree with them and ask them to go ahead and do it.
He quit being the leader of Foxconn in 2019 to concentrate on attempting to become president, but gave up when he didn’t receive the nomination from Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s main opposing party.
After the KMT rejected Gou for the second time this year, he has decided to participate in the election as an independent candidate. This has caused conflict among the opposition, as there are already two candidates who support having stronger and more stable relations with Beijing.
Hou Yu-ih, the mayor of New Taipei City, is the selected candidate of the KMT political party. Ko Wen-je, a popular ex-mayor of Taipei, is participating in the election under the Taiwan People’s Party.
The KMT is very sorry about Gou’s bid and wants him to support Hou. They are worried that if Gou runs, it will divide the votes of people who are friendly to Beijing.
However, Gou has supported his choice by portraying himself as the only person capable of bringing together the divided opposition against Lai, who is currently ahead in the polls.
“I want to bring together the opposition group,” he said on Monday, asking Hou and Ko to meet and talk about the best plan to beat DPP.
According to Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist from the Taiwan Studies Program at Australia National University, in the near future, Gou is expected to split the votes of opposing parties which will make things easier for Lai.
Sung warned that it is difficult to predict the long-term effects.
Gou’s dream is to make the other two opponents either quit or support him, so he can be the only person challenging Lai. However, very few experts in Taiwan think that this is a realistic idea.
After Gou announced his decision, Hou, the KMT candidate, told reporters that he still wants to be president and is focused on doing what the party wants him to do.
Ko’s party said it understands that Gou has the right to run for office, but they are focusing on Ko’s campaign.
Apart from getting 290,000 votes by November, Gou also has to announce his running mate before September 17, as per Taiwan’s Central Election Commission rules.
“Gou is in a hurry, and time is not on his side,” Sung explained.