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China Politics

Foxconn Founder Terry Gou Announces Run For Taiwan Presidency, Pledging To Fix China Ties (theguardian.com) 63

Foxconn's billionaire founder, Terry Gou, has announced he intends to enter Taiwan's 2024 presidential race as an independent." Touting his business and finance experience at the tech giant, Gou is pledging to boost the country's economy and fix its relations with China. "Give me four years and I promise that I will bring 50 years of peace to the Taiwan Strait and build the deepest foundation for the mutual trust across the strait ... Taiwan must not become Ukraine and I will not let Taiwan become the next Ukraine." The Guardian reports: Gou has hinted at running for several months after he was not chosen as the candidate for the main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT). He pledged support for the KMT's chosen candidate, Hou Yo-ih, but continued to hold public campaign-style events. Gou will need to collect 290,000 signatures by early November to qualify as an independent candidate.

The entrance of Gou into the campaign adds further intrigue to what was already an unusual race. Lai Ching-te, the current vice-president and presidential nominee for the ruling DPP, is polling ahead of both the KMT's Hou, the current mayor of New Taipei City and a former police chief, and Ko Wen-je, the former mayor of Taipei City and nominee for the Taiwan People's party he founded. A poll last week found Lai's support was at 43%, compared with 27% for Ko, and just 14% for the KMT's Hou. More than 16% were undecided or refused to answer.

In his speech Gou called for an anti-DPP coalition. Ko, Hou and Gou are all considered to be from the pan-blue side of Taiwanese politics which adheres more closely to a Chinese identity. However initial reaction from analysts was that Gou's entry into the race would probably split the blue vote further and instead benefit the DPP.

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Foxconn Founder Terry Gou Announces Run For Taiwan Presidency, Pledging To Fix China Ties

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  • foxconn can just move to WI and build in USA!

  • by Thoth Ptolemy ( 110353 ) on Monday August 28, 2023 @04:59PM (#63804434)
    Can't be the next Ukraine if you surrender before the invasion. Let's be real, the only thing the CCP will accept is Taiwan's completed subjugation and obliteration. The CCP couldn't even accept a successful, quasi-independent city without violently repressing it.
    • by tiqui ( 1024021 ) on Monday August 28, 2023 @05:54PM (#63804532)

      as a rich guy whose fortunes depend on China, he will SELL Taiwan's freedom at a discount. He assumes he will be just fine as he consigns countless millions of current and future Taiwanese people to subjugation under the boot of the Chinese communist party.

      People like this clown are all the same, and they NEVER learn from the past; they're so blinded by their own short-term self-interests that they generally cannot even conceive of the idea that their new masters will turn on them. When all the "unimportant little people" around them, who they have sold-out, are persecuted and oppressed, they'll look away and tell themselves THEY were the smart ones and those people suffering were dumb to have not done the same thing. Then, someday later, they'll be SHOCKED when other servants of their new masters knock on THEIR door...

      The people of Taiwan need to pay VERY close attention to what happened to all the people of Hong Kong who did not perfectly obey their new masters on the mainland, and particularly at the degree to which China proved it never had any intentions of honoring all the "deals" it signed on to before the clamp-downs.

      • People like this clown? The average American (and every other modern country) would exchange your, my, their, and every generation that follows freedoms to the ever growing state for a new TV or an extra $10 a month in welfare. And you're upset at this guy trading it for billions?
      • by vlad30 ( 44644 )
        I was going to say he should ask Jack Ma what its like to be a billionaire in China but then I remembered Jack Ma was reducated and only says what China CCP tells him to https://www.indianarrative.com... [indianarrative.com]

        Since his "hibernation" he hasn't said anything bad about the Chinese gavernment

      • Terry Gou is NOT Taiwanese. His family is from Mainland China....they moved to Taiwan when the Communists took over. Gou is a "waishengren". Of course he supports the KMT.

      • by jonadab ( 583620 )
        > as a rich guy whose fortunes depend on China, he will SELL Taiwan's freedom at a discount

        What he'll do, is split the pro-CCP / pro-appeasement vote with the KMT, virtually guaranteeing a DPP win (just in case the combination of Hong Kong's ongoing nightmare, COVID, and everything else that's been going on for the last five years or so, haven't already done a sufficiently thorough job of elevating DPP popularity).

        Which is all good from our perspective in the West.
    • by gtall ( 79522 )

      And the head of FoxConn will happily hand Taiwan over to the CCP so Xi Jinping can crow about the size of his....hands. Taiwanese would be stupid to allow him to become president.

  • A full decade ago, Mearsheimer gave multiple speeches in China very similar to this speech,
    "Why China Cannot Rise Peacefully" https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
    By his own account the Chinese took him seriously. Did the tail wag the dog?
    The preparation by China for Mearsheimer’s scenario would be to start treating the US as a future enemy. They would want to build up defenses and fortify their borders. Make sure Hong Kong did not go democratic where elections could be influenced by medaling outsi
    • by Saffaya ( 702234 )

      The Chinese plan on the long term. 10 years is nothing for them.
      The plan to conquer the pacific (and more) has been laid decades ago, just look it up.
      Never forget that "The communist revolution will only stop when the entire world is communist".

      Weird.. it reminds me of "The jihad will only stop when the entire world is Islamic"

      Could both have the same origin? I wonder ... /s

      • Manifest destiny, but rephrased by other political parties. Nothing more.

        • by Saffaya ( 702234 )

          Well then, I would very like to know of other:
          _Major Political system that promotes war and subjugation of the entire planet by force.
          _Major Religion that promotes war and subjugation of the entire planet by force.

          Those two I cited seem like outliers in their own group, just as if they had the same origin. Or if one was the updated version of the other.

          • Well then, I would very like to know of other: _Major Political system that promotes war and subjugation of the entire planet by force. _Major Religion that promotes war and subjugation of the entire planet by force.

            Those two I cited seem like outliers in their own group, just as if they had the same origin. Or if one was the updated version of the other.

            I'm sure if you went back far enough you'd find:
            _Major tribe of continent that promotes war and subjugation of the entire planet by force.

            It's militarism with some innate belief that "we deserve it all," whether you want to say it was dictated by god (manifest destiny) or fate or because you woke up with extra hard morning wood and an idea you can't shake, it's all some gut-level, "I'm a leader and I want more" human thing. Power begets a desire for more power, and once that scale tips, it can very easily

  • He can run on that platform and heâ(TM)ll lose but it wonâ(TM)t matter - china wonâ(TM)t see the loss as a repudiation. Heâ(TM)ll lose. The anti-china party will win. China will still think the Taiwanese want to join china.
  • by hdyoung ( 5182939 ) on Monday August 28, 2023 @05:28PM (#63804482)
    Is basically his rallying cry.

    Does this actually resonate with Taiwanese people? I’m asking seriously any Taiwanese want to weigh in here? I’m on the other side of the planet and raised in a different culture, so I don’t really trust my perception on this one. to me it sounds like an alligator inviting a zebra to hop into it’s jaws.
    • by Junta ( 36770 )

      I could see a number of takers:
      -I'm sure there are sincerely pro-China folks. In any population you can generally find a "pro-Anything" subgroup, I presume China to be no exception. That being said, I'd imagine this group is fairly small, given Taiwan's economic power and good standing, China doesn't really offer them a lot of arguable benefits over the status quo.

      -Folks that just fear the prospect of lethal military conflict at all costs. They fear that, like in Ukraine, one day a massive force is going

      • by Saffaya ( 702234 )

        China doesn't want to take Taiwan because or for its chip industry.
        It is a matter of survival. A matter of historic and cultural survival.

        You need to understand that there is not ONE China, there are always several Chinas.
        For example, keep in mind that people in the south can't understand what people in the North are saying. They don't speak the same language. It is written the same, but can't be understood by the other.

        All you need to know about China is this:
        "The empire, long divided, must unite; long uni

    • Is basically his rallying cry.

      Does this actually resonate with Taiwanese people? I’m asking seriously any Taiwanese want to weigh in here? I’m on the other side of the planet and raised in a different culture, so I don’t really trust my perception on this one. to me it sounds like an alligator inviting a zebra to hop into it’s jaws.

      As the article says, he is expected to be the 3rd candidate on the "blue" side. So, this benefits the lone green candidate, who already polls with about half the vote among three candidates.

      Gou is already known to be China-friendly, which plays well to only a small part of the electorate. There are anti-green votes based on the economy, but those votes are going to be split 3-ways with Gou entering the race.

      In Taiwan, the anti-China sentiment is not only political. It's now also cultural. Most Taiwanese

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Taiwan has been moving closer to the West for a while, with visits from Western leaders and buying arms from the US. China is obviously not happy about that, and you can easily see how if Taiwan say joined with US sanctions it would likely lead to a war.

      What he is proposing is backing off from that and instead cooperating more with China. China wants to secure high end chip fabrication, for example, and Taiwan could help with that.

      Becoming part of the PRC is not on the cards. It's about de-escalating the cu

    • by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @12:15AM (#63805098) Journal

      Does this actually resonate with Taiwanese people?

      Until recently, people in Taiwan liked the idea of eventually unifying with China, which they see as a winner. They've gotten a lot of economic benefits over the past 20 years by improving ties with China. So that's where he's coming from, he wants to continue improving economic ties with China, without necessarily allowing China sovereignty over the country.

      The Sunflower Protests are when that changed [wikipedia.org]. People in Taiwan saw the CSSTA as an attempt by the Chinese government to take over the free press in Taiwan, so they could push propaganda. For example, a lot of people worried that under CSSTA, China wanted the right to put magazines in hair salons, which is a good way to push propaganda.

      Still, if China ever becomes a democracy, or if Taiwan can unify without the people losing their rights, there will be no reason for Taiwan not to unify with China, and Taiwanese people recognize that, and even look forward to that.

      • Taiwanese have also been watching how China was handling HK since the handover and the recent crackdowns over there actually boosted the support for those who did not want to join China in any way.

        Now they know that no matter what China says about having 2 systems / seperate type of governance for Taiwan if they join China, it will only last until China decided they didn't like it.

      • by Saffaya ( 702234 )

        "Still, if China ever becomes a democracy"

        Just a pet peeve of mine, I see what you mean and I'm only replying to help cast light on an important concept.

        To re-use an old template:
        "Democracy. You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means"

        The words you are looking for is constitutional democratic republic.
        Democracy just by itself is simply the tyranny of the majority. If the majority decides you have no rights anymore, then you lose them. Do you think the continental Chinese would l

    • by jonadab ( 583620 )
      > Does this actually resonate with Taiwanese people?

      It might resonate with at least some of the KMT's supporters.

      DPP voters, not so much.
  • by SysEngineer ( 4726931 ) on Monday August 28, 2023 @05:39PM (#63804504)
    As a business and finance person, I expect he places more importance on money than freedom. So I expect he would "sell" Taiwan to China for "good" economic causes and let freedom die.
  • Touting his business and finance experience

    I'm trying to remember the last time someone claimed they were a great businessman despite the multitude of failed businesses and how things went. Can someone remind me?

    • I'm trying to remember the last time someone claimed they were a great businessman despite the multitude of failed businesses and how things went. Can someone remind me?

      Why on earth would you attempt to draw that parallel in a discussion about the founder of Foxconn?

      There are plenty of legitimate things to rail against here... but Foxconn is pretty much the antithesis of a failed business.

      • The only true reason Foxconn exists is because of Apple. When you look at all the times Foxconn has said they'd do something and how they failed to deliver, while soaking the taxpayers, you'd understand the comment.

        • It is a good debate for Taiwanese to chose their future. Needlessly provoking CCP seems not constructive . Visiting US politicians for instance. Instead Investing in deterrent a more practical survival risk. Can rationalize there are unpredictable risks in region like N Korea. The trade with China does help sustain the status quo since mutual interests. Pushing away could snap the peace dividends.
          • by Duhavid ( 677874 )

            The road you propose leads to assimilation.

            I agree that needless provocation is bad, but if the Taiwanese dont cultivate relations with other nations, there will be no one to purchase the tools of deterrence from
            Look at how many countries China has managed to pressure into dissolving their ties to Taiwan.
            Short of a radical change in mainland China, Taiwan will become part of China unless they continue to distance themselves to the extent possible.

  • Reading some of these knee-jerk responses make me think that some slashdotters REALLY love that Kuomintang propaganda.

    American politics has normalized its party politics around a couple of key issues, but in Taiwan, there is only one issue: whether or not you are pro-KMT.

    If you are not pro KMT, then you are basically cast as a pro-china scumbag. This article is Taiwanese political agitprop masquerading as a legit news story.

    • If you are not pro KMT, then you are basically cast as a pro-china scumbag

      You need to calm down. The KMT is the party that favors closer ties to China.

    • by _merlin ( 160982 )

      What the hell? The KMT is the party that believes there's only once China and it will one day be united. Historically, that meant they thought they were going to re-take the mainland and overthrow the illegitimate PRC government. They've largely given up on that now, and talk about closer ties with China instead. The DPP is the party that leans towards the position that Taiwan will eventually be recognised as an independent country.

  • That time in 2014 when Terry Gou criticized the student protesters who successfully defended Taiwan's economy from Chinese takeover by saying ("You can't eat democracy!")
    https://www.chinatimes.com/new... [chinatimes.com]

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