Gou stepped down as Foxconn chief in 2019 and made a presidential bid that year, but dropped out after losing the race to win the nomination for the KMT. — Bloomberg
TAIPEI: Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of major Apple Inc supplier Foxconn, says he will seek the presidential nomination for Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), for a second time.
Gou stepped down as Foxconn chief in 2019 and made a presidential bid that year, but dropped out after losing the race to win the nomination for the KMT, which traditionally favours close ties with China.
Speaking to reporters at a hotel next to Taiwan’s main international airport at Taoyuan on his return from a week-long trip to the United States, Gou said the only way to avoid war with China was to lessen Sino-US tensions and get Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) out of office.
“We must honestly tell young people that it is dangerous to vote for the DPP, which ‘exalts Taiwan independence and hates and opposes China’,” Gou said, citing a wording Taiwan opposition parties typically use to describe the DPP’s politics.
“Peace is not taken for granted, and people need to make the correct choice.”
The KMT is still in the process of choosing its candidate for the next presidential election, due in January 2024, with Hou Yu-ih the front-runner. — Reuters
