TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Foxconn founder and billionaire Terry Gou (郭台銘) announced on Wednesday (April 5) that he plans to run in the 2024 presidential election if selected by the Kuomintang (KMT), though he will ultimately support whomever the KMT chooses to avoid a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) victory.
Gou said “defusing” U.S.-China tensions motivated him to seek the presidential nomination, and that achieving this would enable Taiwan’s continued prosperity and economic growth, per SETN. “Taiwan has the conditions to become a key influence in resolving the U.S.-China confrontation as long as we have a leader with international heights and peace in mind,” Gou conveyed.
Gou stressed his belief that Taiwan should avoid another DPP government at all costs. He wants to tell young people that voting for the DPP is dangerous and that it “upholds Taiwan independence, hates China, resists China, and is against your interests.”
“Peace is not something to be taken for granted. It requires the people to make the right choices,” Gou said. “With today’s difficulties, as an international entrepreneur with a global vision and multi-party relationships, I should stand up and solve the crisis that traditional politicians cannot solve," he added.
According to Gou, “To save our own country, we cannot let the DPP continue to be in power." Gou said he would inform the public of his specific plans once he returns to Taiwan from an upcoming trip to Japan.
The KMT said Gou is not only an asset for their party but for the whole country, sharing, “Guo specifically said this morning that whoever is nominated, he is willing to work hard with the Kuomintang and pursue unity to win the election. Such an open mind is admirable!”
In 2019, relations between the business tycoon and the KMT took a turn for the worse, when Gou called the party’s leaders “conservative” and “corrupt," resulting in Gou’s messy public exit from the party. Gou addressed this during the press conference, bowing deeply to an assembled crowd and apologizing to the KMT for “leaving in anger” four years ago.
Other likely KMT nominations for the 2024 Taiwan Presidential Election are KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), who responded to Gou’s statement on Wednesday without indicating if he would seek the party's nomination.
