Terry Gou
Terry Gou, founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn, has resigned from the company’s board of directors, the Taiwanese corporation announced on Saturday.
After months of speculation, Gou, who stood down as Foxconn’s chairman in 2019, revealed on Monday that he would run as an independent candidate in the January presidential election.
Foxconn claimed in a brief statement that Terry Gou left for personal reasons, adding that he officially handed over leadership of the group to a professional manager four years ago.
The campaign staff for Terry Gou declined to comment.
Concerning a conflict of interest, Terry Gou, a significant stakeholder of Foxconn, which has massive investments in China, stated that he is willing to sacrifice his personal holdings in China in the case of a Chinese attack.
“I have never been under the control of the People’s Republic of China”, he declared. “I don’t follow their instructions”, he added.
Terry Gou is the fourth candidate to enter the race, but his poll results prior to his declaration placed him far behind the front-runner, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) William Lai, who is now vice president.
He has often accused the DPP of actively seeking war with China, which claims the island as its own territory, by adopting a confrontational approach toward Beijing.
The DPP-led administration and Lai have frequently offered negotiations with China, but have been turned down because Beijing regards them as separatists.
Terry Gou has been seeking to unite the opposition to the DPP this week, but no agreements have been struck.
Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je of the minor Taiwan People’s Party and Hou Yu-ih of Taiwan’s biggest opposition party, the Kuomintang, which has long supported tight ties with Beijing, are the other two contenders.
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