Foxconn founder Terry Gou has announced his official candidacy for Taiwan’s presidential election, scheduled for January next year, as an independent.
“I decided to participate in the 2024 presidential elections and present my candidacy,” said the billionaire at a press conference.
Earlier this year, Gou had declared that he was seeking to be nominated as a presidential candidate by the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s main opposition party.
But the KMT preferred a former police chief and current New Taipei City mayor, Hou Yu-ih, despite poor results in recent weeks.
However, the Foxconn boss, who is running as an independent, still needs to collect 290,000 signatures to be eligible.
In recent months, Gou, who has long declared presidential ambitions, has organized several events in Taiwan that have resembled election campaigns.
Foxconn, also known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, assembling devices for many companies, including Apple.
Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te, a member of Taiwan’s current leader Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party, is the current favourite.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and threatens to forcibly reunify it if the island formally declares its independence.
China and Taiwan have lived as two autonomous territories since 1949, when the former Chinese nationalist government took refuge on the island after the defeat in the civil war against the communists.
Source: TSF
