His company Foxconn made Terry Gou a billionaire. Now he is running to become Taiwan’s next president. But is he really serious?
Taipei – Terry Gou needs to collect almost 300,000 signatures in order to be allowed to run in the presidential elections in Taiwan next January. He already has Lillian’s voice. The 65-year-old Taiwanese woman, who only wants to give her English nickname, stands in front of Gou’s campaign office in eastern Taipei on a Thursday morning and can’t stop raving about it. Gou, founder of Apple supplier Foxconn and loud Forbes Worth almost seven billion US dollars, he has “created a kingdom” with his huge company, says Lillian. It’s logical that someone like that would want to become, if not king, then at least president of Taiwan. In any case, Gou has what it takes.
Terry Gou had already tried to become president three years ago, back then as a candidate of the Kuomintang (KMT), the party that ruled Taiwan for decades and stands for a more pro-Beijing course. The sea goddess Mazu spoke to him in a dream, Gou said at the time, and encouraged him to become president. Ultimately, however, even the goddess couldn’t prevent Gou from only finishing second in the party’s internal primaries. Now he is trying again, this time as an independent candidate, hence the collection of signatures.
Taiwan: Terry Gou is still behind in the polls
Things are going well, says one of Gou’s employees in Taipei, and people are eager to sign for the “big boss,” as they call him here. In front of the office, they marked lines on the ground with tape so that people could line up in an orderly manner. This Thursday, however, the crowds are manageable; there are more Gou employees than supporters in front of the office.
Gou still has until the beginning of November to collect the necessary votes. Lillian, who volunteers on his team, is confident that this will succeed. And she firmly believes that Gou can move into Taipei’s presidential palace next year. However, the polls are currently telling a different story; Gou is well behind the three other candidates, at ten to 14 percent. The best chance is given to Lai Ching-te, the candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and current vice president of Taiwan. In the latest polls he gets 28 to 35 percent, followed by Hou Yu-ih (16 to 20 percent) from the KMT and Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan People’s Party (17 to 23 percent).
“I will not allow Taiwan to become the next Ukraine”
It’s all just a snapshot, says Gou supporter Lillian. Once the Foxconn founder has overcome the first hurdle and is officially allowed to call himself a presidential candidate, then his values will increase, she explains. Behind her, a poster proclaims Gou’s campaign slogan: “People hope for change. And change brings hope.”
What speaks for Gou is his entrepreneurial skills, says Lillian. Young people in Taiwan earn too little, inflation is too high, and apartments are far too expensive. “Who should afford that?” Jinghao, a young 29-year-old who has just signed for Gou, also believes that the Foxconn founder will spread his success as an entrepreneur to the entire country. “We need more investment from abroad,” he says. “Then China will also think twice about whether it really attacks Taiwan.”
The People’s Republic views Taiwan as a breakaway province and wants to unite the democratically governed island state with the mainland by force if necessary. Terry Gou promises not to let it get that far. President Tsai Ing-wen’s ruling Progressive Party and its candidate Lai Ching-te have brought Taiwan “dangerously close to the brink of war,” he recently complained. But he will “bring 50 years of peace” if he is given the chance. “I will not allow Taiwan to become the next Ukraine.”
How serious is Terry Gou?
However, Gou has not yet revealed how he plans to do this. Critics also fear that the multi-billionaire’s Foxconn factories in China are more important to him than Taiwan itself – and that he could switch sides in the event of an attack. Gou himself angrily rejects such allegations. He had already given up his job as Foxconn boss in 2019 and recently left the company’s supervisory board.
It remains unclear what strategy Gou is actually pursuing with his candidacy. His declared main opponent is Lai from the ruling Progressive Party. But the opposition is more fragmented than it has been for a long time, and with Gou, a third challenger is now entering the arena. This only makes Lai’s chances even better. Some people therefore speculate that Gou’s candidacy is simply intended to put pressure on the two opposition candidates to unite their forces against Lai. But with what aim? So that one of the two becomes the sole candidate – or Gou himself?
In the end, Terry Gou could have all the signatures he needs to become president – and still back out. What would the sea goddess Mazu say about that?
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