Foxconn founder Terry Gou plans to run in Taiwan's 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate, after an unsuccessful bid in 2019

Terry Gou's independent candidacy could split opposition vote and boost the ruling party, which seeks closer U.S. ties amid Chinese pressure

Wall Street Journal 2023-08-28 Chun Han Wong

Context & Ripple Effects

Gou’s independent bid reprises his 2019 presidential run, again placing Foxconn’s founder at the intersection of Taiwan politics and a company with deep cross-strait exposure.

The immediate significance is political rather than operational: a prominent industrial figure is entering a race in which the ruling party’s U.S.-oriented posture and pressure from China are central to the stakes.

First-order effects

An independent Gou candidacy creates a new route for opposition votes to fragment, potentially improving the ruling party’s electoral position without any change to its own coalition.
Foxconn is immediately more exposed to scrutiny of whether its founder’s political activity and the company’s commercial interests can be kept distinct.

Second-order effects

Opposition candidates face greater pressure to coordinate or differentiate their appeals, while Foxconn must reassure employees, customers, and partners that campaign activity will not dictate company decisions.
Because the campaign foregrounds ties with the U.S. and Chinese pressure, cross-strait business exposure becomes a more salient consideration for Taiwan-linked manufacturers and their customers.

Third-order effects

If major corporate founders continue to become electoral actors, governance separation and political-risk planning could become more important competitive requirements for Taiwan’s export-oriented groups.
The episode points toward a business environment in which supply-chain companies are judged not only on manufacturing execution but also on their resilience to geopolitical and domestic political pressure.

The trend: Taiwan’s industrial champions are becoming more directly entangled with the geopolitical choices shaping technology supply chains.

Discussion

@demesdavid @demesdavid on x
@Reuters Terry Gou: “Foxconn has almost one million shareholders. If China were to confiscate Foxconn's assets, they wouldn't just be confiscating my assets, but those of shareholders worldwide, including those on Wall Street. (...) If they did, who would dare invest in China any…
@heguisen @heguisen on x
Every election needs a billionaire sea goddess whisperer with massive investments in China
@demesdavid @demesdavid on x
Responding to a question from @Reuters, Terry Gou says that if China were to confiscate Foxconn's assets in China to pressure him, he wouldn't be moved and would even welcome it. “Yes, do it!” he said to applause from the crowd.
@lnachman32 Lev Nachman on x
Now that Taiwan has three pan-blue candidates (Hou, Gou, and Ko) it is going to create a very difficult collective action challenge for blue voters. This does not guarantee the election for Lai, but 3 blue candidates versus 1 green candidate on paper is in the DPP's favor.
@demesdavid @demesdavid on x
To register as a candidate, Gou will need to collect 280,000 signatures by November 2nd. According to media reports, Gou is aiming at one million signatures. He has the support of several local political leaders from the pan-blue camp, making it easy to mobilize signatures.
@rnaudbertrand Arnaud Bertrand on x
Wow, this is big! Foxconn founder Terry Gou runs for president of the ROC (Taiwan). He says he does so because “it's time to pull independence-leaning DPP ‘off the shelf’” and because they're “corrupt and unable to offer a bright future for the island”. https://www.scmp.com/...

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