In a move that has captured the attention of Taiwan and the world, Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of Foxconn, has officially registered as an independent candidate for the upcoming Taiwanese presidential election. Gou stepped down from Foxconn’s board of directors earlier this month, stating that he needs to concentrate on his political ambitions. Adding a touch of glamour to his campaign, he announced Tammy Darshana Lai, a renowned actress, singer, and author, as his running mate.
Lai, who is 60 years old, recently portrayed a Taiwanese presidential candidate in a Netflix drama that has been credited with revitalizing Taiwan’s #MeToo movement. Her selection was unexpected but aligns with the unpredictable nature of Gou’s actions this year. A spokesperson for Gou’s campaign criticized the current administration for decisions that have “escalated rather than reduced tension with China, weakened rather than strengthened Taiwan’s economy, and led to greater isolation rather than integration with the global community.”
The presidential election, scheduled for January 13, 2024, has now become a four-way contest. Despite Gou’s prominence in the business world, his platform, which includes strengthening Taiwan’s economy and fostering “50 years of peace” with the People’s Republic of China, has not found widespread support among Taiwanese voters. Opinion polls have been historically unreliable in Taiwan, but most current surveys place Gou at the bottom of the list.
Gou has been compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump for their shared business backgrounds and bold, sometimes controversial, policy proposals. For instance, Gou has promised that Taiwan will soon have the highest GDP per capita in Asia under his economic leadership. He has also advocated for reducing or even ending Taiwan’s purchases of American weapons systems and has floated the idea of creating a drone or robot army to defend Taiwan from China.
However, the similarities between Gou and Trump seem to end there. Gou lacks the public speaking skills that Trump is known for, and his backstory is markedly different. Born in 1950 to middle-class parents who fled China for Taiwan in 1947, Gou did not attend any prestigious educational institutions. He fulfilled his mandatory military service in his early 20s, stationed on Kinmen Island, which is just under two miles off the coast of China. After his military service, he worked for a commercial shipping company before founding a small plastics manufacturing firm in the early 1970s. This company would later become Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and China’s largest exporter.
Gou has been a peripheral figure in Taiwanese politics for years. In 2012, he endorsed the presidential candidate from the Kuomintang (KMT), who won re-election. However, his direct involvement in politics was minimal until recently. In 2019, he claimed that the sea goddess Mazu appeared to him in a dream, directing him to participate in the KMT presidential primary, which he lost. The KMT candidate also lost the 2020 election to Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female president, who is set to step down next year.
Taiwan’s political landscape has been a democracy for a relatively short period, with the first peaceful transition of power occurring in 2000. Since then, power has alternated between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the KMT. However, the 2024 election could disrupt this pattern, as the DPP appears poised for consecutive terms in office.
Gou had initially pledged to support the KMT’s 2024 nominee but withdrew his endorsement after losing the nomination. His decision to run has puzzled many in Taiwan, leading to speculation that he aims to rally non-DPP voters as a “consensus candidate” in the eleventh hour. Courtney Donovan Smith, a political commentator and columnist for Taiwan News, noted that Gou believes he will attract “hidden voters” who do not respond to polls. However, current aggregate polling data suggests that even if all undecided voters were to support Gou, it would not guarantee his victory.
Gou’s business empire was built in communist China, a nation that frequently engages in military provocations against Taiwan. While his supporters argue that his experience with China positions him as the ideal candidate to ease Sino-Taiwanese tensions, critics contend that he is “out of touch” and overly aligned with business interests connected to Beijing.
The KMT has described Gou’s independent candidacy as “regrettable,” stating that it risks alienating voters from both the KMT and the newly formed Taiwan People’s Party. While the 2016 U.S. presidential election showed that anything is possible, the division of Taiwan’s opposition into three separate camps makes it increasingly unlikely that anyone but the DPP’s current Vice President William Lai will secure a victory.
Terry Gou’s entry into the presidential race has added an unpredictable element to Taiwan’s political landscape. Whether he can turn the tide in his favor remains to be seen, but for now, he is a wild card in an already complex electoral equation.
