Foxconn’s billionaire founder Terry Gou announced Monday (28 August) that he will run for president of Taiwan as an independent candidate.

Gou made his fortune turning Foxconn into the world’s largest contract producer of electronics, including for Apple’s iPhones.

He has a long-running ambition to become the leader of the self-ruled island but failed this year in an attempt to become the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party’s nominee for the January 2024 election.

Analysts predicted Gou had only a slim chance of winning, with three opposition candidates in the race against a united Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whose nominee Lai Ching-te has been leading in polls.

But Gou positioned himself as a leader who could promote peace between Taiwan and China.

“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,” he told a news conference.

China considers Taiwan its territory, to be taken one day by force if necessary.

President Tsai Ing-wen, who is serving her second and final term, refuses to accept that position and Beijing has ramped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since she came into office in 2016.

“The Democratic Progressive Party has been in power for more than seven years, and it has brought the danger of war to Taiwan,” Gou said.

He said he would “never let Taiwan become the next Ukraine”, referring to Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Four-way race

The DPP’s Lai is followed in the polls by Ko Wen-je of the small Taiwan’s People Party (TPP) and then by the KMT’s Hou Yu-ih, a former police chief-turned-mayor of New Taipei City. 

“In a four-way scenario, it would be very unlikely for any opposition candidate to win the election,” said Sung Wen-ti, who teaches at Australian National University’s Taiwan studies programme.

But Gou’s entry “may also create a renewed sense of urgency for the opposition to work together as well”, Sung said.

Gou told Monday’s news conference the opposition camp should “integrate and find candidates that meet the expectations of the people”.

Foxconn has built huge factories in China and critics allege he has a cosy relationship with the leadership in Beijing.

He stepped down as Foxconn’s chief in 2019 for a failed presidential run.

Asked about his links to the Chinese government, Gou said he has not been involved in the firm’s management for four years.

“I have never been under the control of (the Chinese Communist Party)… I will not be threatened,” he said.

The 72-year-old, whose self-made success is the stuff of legend in Taiwan, needs 290,000 signatures to qualify as an independent candidate.

In recent months he has held campaign-like events around Taiwan, staging rallies in key cities and commemorating important anniversaries.

The Kuomintang expressed “deep regret” about Gou’s candidacy and urged him to support Hou.

The TPP’s Ko, who has been running neck-and-neck with Hou, said this month that Gou’s entry would throw the opposition camp into chaos.

“If Gou runs, all three (opposition candidates) are done. It’s 100 percent that Lai Ching-te will win. He doesn’t even have to run, he can crack open the champagne bottle,” Ko told Taiwanese media. 

The ruling DPP said in a statement that Taiwan was a democratic country and that it respected Gou’s decision to run. 

By Agence France-Presse