Gou Gives Up Presidential Bid;
Taiwan Election Returns To Blue-Green Showdown
No. 6, September 20, 2019
Terry Gou decided not to run for president in the 2020 election.
(Photo from: United Daily News)
Featured News
 In a video, Gou explains why he is not running for president in the 2020 election.
(Video from: Terry Gou's Facebook)

Headline! Terry Gou Not Running For President And Sorry To Disappoint Supporters

United Daily News, September 16, 2019

 

Foxconn founder Terry Gou has made a final decision. As September 17 is the presidency application deadline for independent candidates, Gou informed his staff and aides that he will not register for the upcoming election.

 

According to the Central Election Commission, independent candidates who have not been nominated by their party have to register as a petitioning candidate before the deadline.

 

The following is Gou’s released statement:

 

Life is filled with all kinds of decisions. Some are easy and some are hard. Recently, I have been pondering on the true meaning of owning responsibility.

Is it bearing it? Or is it letting it go?

 

My original intent in running for president was to lead the people of Taiwan with joint hearts into economic prosperity. Unfortunately, since I plunged into the elections, all I see is politicians, out of their own self-interests, provoking class conflicts, hatred, rivalries and such sort of populism. All of this makes me wonder whether these negative circumstances would end if I assume certain responsibilities, or if I should let go in order to set things straight again?

 

My decision to not participate in the petition for the 2020 presidential election is not a result of anyone’s lobbying or influence. Instead, it is a decision that I have made after careful consideration. My hope is that at this moment when the society is so focused on who will be the country’s future leader, people can return to thinking rationally and discuss perspectives on policy. 

 

Because of my decision, I would like to express my deepest apology along with a bow to all the friends who hoped to see me run. I am sorry that I have disappointed you!

 

I know that this decision will be very hard to accept for many of my supporters. Even though it has only been a very short period of time since I entered the world of politics, I have felt all the warmth that everyone has shown me. Especially after hearing how certain supporters were verbally abused but still chose to stand firm by me, my heart is filled with compassion and gratitude.

 

Therefore, not only do I want to express my most sincere apology to my supporters, I also want to say “Thank you.” I appreciate all your support and love.

 

These past few months I have had the opportunity to talk with friends from all walks of life. It has made me understand clearly that serving the people is a happy and meaningful privilege. Thus, even though I will not participate in the presidential election, it does not mean I have given up on participating in political affairs. I will continue to proactively promote policies I stand by and hope that more friends with ideals are willing to work hard for Taiwan so that Taiwan can have peace, stability, prosperity and a future.

 

I will either reflect upon or cherish all criticisms and affirmations that I have received recently and see them as nourishment to my life’s journey.

 

I will always be on the side of the Republic of China. Whenever the Republic of China needs Terry Gou, Terry Gou will always be there.

 

From: https://udn.com/news/story/12702/4051096

 

Featured Editorial

Terry Gou Can Still Lend A Hand In Beating DPP

United Daily News Editorial, September 18, 2019

 

Businessman Terry Gou, who founded Foxconn, announced that he will not run for president in 2020 as an independent candidate. In staying out of the race, Gou retains the opportunity to influence politics and society. 

 

Despite recently withdrawing from the Kuomintang (KMT), Terry Gou announced on the eve of the registration deadline that he would not independently run in the presidential election. Gou made the right choice politically. The move demonstrates sound judgment on political realities, dodges charges against loyalty and legitimacy, and avoids accusation of splitting the KMT vote. Instead, he retains the opportunity to influence politics and society. More importantly, after Gou abandons his presidential bid, there is still a lot of room to advance the goal of defeating the President Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which was actually his intent behind joining the election.

 

Terry Gou’s entrance into the 2020 presidential contest added a lot of possibilities and visibility to the election and challenged the traditional blue-green political divide. However, following his defeat in the KMT presidential primary, Gou’s independent candidacy as an independent lacks legitimacy. Playing by the rules is not unfamiliar to democratic politics. Although he has complained about the KMT, the party leadership, in fact, opened the back door for Gou (by recognizing him as an honorary member of the party and clearing eligibility issues for his primary campaign). That the primary polls were conducted in a fair and transparent manner is also self-evident. Gou lost because he entered the race too late. At that time, Han Kuo-yu and the “Han wave” had become dominant. If Gou had launched his campaign two or three months earlier, perhaps Han would have more reason to yield to “big brother”, and Gou would be able to encompass Han’s supporters.

 

Within Taiwan, there is greater recognition of the Republic of China, first promoted by the “Han wave” then supported by Gou’s caps with the national flag. Both Han and Gou emphasized improving the economy, were not all that different in terms of national identity, and both possessed incredible charisma. The political experience and management experience of the two men are greatly complementary. Han has been surrounded by the common people, while Gou enjoys the support of professionals. The two men and their supporters should let down preconceived biases and work together to defeat the DPP instead of opposing or confronting one another.

 

We have said that Terry Gou's sense of country is beyond doubt, but his political senses are lacking. This is led to some moves and reactions that appeared abrupt and inaccurate. In the harsh political environment of Taiwan, he faced political attacks and did not have enough opportunity to clarify his ideas, despite already reaching the showdown moment, which is regrettable. In any case, Gou selected the right course by not gambling his life reputation in one election. This is probably due to the businessman’s rationality and pragmatism.

 

Take Terry Gou’s “alliance” with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and former Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng for example. Although it has been stirred up by the media, in fact, the thoughts and styles of the three people are different, and their political intentions are also very different. As such, it is difficult for the trio to form a meaningful political alliance. For example, Wang has run out of tricks and acting unpredictably. Although Ko claims to transcend partisanship, he only intends to push Gou towards the battle line and sacrifice Gou to save himself. So long as Gou can set aside his political aspirations and return to his original intentions to serve the people of Taiwan, he can immediately see through the manipulation. By announcing on the 17th that he would not run, Gou may have disappointed some of his supporters, but he did not let down the national flag visible on his cap or his purpose and social image.

 

Interestingly, after Terry Gou decided not to run for president, Ko Wen-je, who had just established the Taiwan People’s Party for a month ago, announced that he would also not seek the petition application to run for president. On the other hand, former Vice President Annette Lu accepted the recommendation of Formosa Alliance, a minor pro-independence party, to run for president. The original situation of “blue (KMT) split” and “green (DPP) unity” has suddenly changed. At present, it seems that Gou’s self-assessment has returned to pragmatism, and it is still a far cry from a successfully integrating pan-Blue supporters. Notwithstanding, the KMT and Han campaign must take this opportunity to regroup and repair the internal misunderstandings and wounds created over the past few months. At the same time, vacant positions in the presidential and legislative campaign teams should be filled as soon as possible so as to prevent the pro-Green camp to capitalize on this issue. In particular, Han Kuo-yu must display an exemplar and sportsmanship to earn Gou’s trust, promote friendship among Han and Gou supporters, and seize the final victory.

 

In the past few months, the KMT has consumed precious time and effort in internal struggle and given up its earlier lead. Now, with Gou honorably abandoning an independent presidential bid, the KMT must seize the opportunity to promote unity and cooperation. Only by winning the 2020 election and defeating the ruling DPP can the pan-Blue camp revitalize honor of country and social harmony. Although Terry Gou will not stand for the presidential election, his experience and wisdom still have a function to play. Gou’s role may not be at the forefront, but he must be a part of the team.

  

From: https://udn.com/news/story/7338/4053401

 Featured Opinion

Three Scenarios After Gou Drops Presidential Bid

United Daily News, September 17, 2019

 

Last night, Terry Gou announced his dropping out of the presidential race. This announcement came too soon for the unprepared Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je to register as an independent candidate. Therefore, the presidential election of 2020, after running through a big roundabout, has returned to the dual rivalry between the Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). With both Gou and Ko out of the race now, a huge chunk of power vacuum in the political puzzle now surfaces. How this power vacuum will be filled has become a focal point of election observers.

 

The KMT was entrapped in a crisis of division when its party member Terry Gou tempted to run for the presidential race. But Gou’s pulling out of the race does not mean the crisis of the party is over. It is quite dubious if Gou’s supporters will return to the embrace of the pan-Blue camp to support Han Kuo-yu, the KMT’s presidential nominee. The recent polls showed Han fell far behind President Tsai Ing-wen. Under this scenario, where Gou and his supporters are headed remains very critical.

 

Furthermore, as Terry Gou pulled out from the race, Mayor Ko and his White camp imagination to have Gou as the power engine to lead the Taiwan People Party to achieve a crucial minority in the parliament (Legislative Yuan) has become illusory. Ko expressed today that he would not register to be a petitioned candidate for president but whether he allies with another party is “another story”, leaving some room for political manipulation. Where Mayor Ko and his supporters are heading is another scenario.

 

The third scenario is the more inclusive “third force” among which are former Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, minor pan-Green parties like the New Power Party, and James Soong’s People First Party. The political spectrum of these minor groups covers both Blue and Green camps. Thus, it is not possible to consolidate into a power force. But if being tired of the KMT and DPP becomes the prevalent attitude in this election, then anyone who is able to fill in this power vacuum might enjoy a relatively favorable position, eclipsing the forces of both the KMT and DPP.

 

In sum, for the DPP, the best scenario is a showdown with the KMT because under current circumstances, Tsai leads Han by a greater margin in a two-way than a three-way race. Furthermore, because Tsai is in power with administrative vehicles in her hand, she will have an even greater edge.

 

Being mired in a comprehensive disadvantage, the KMT is in a much more complicated condition. To win the election, its first priority is to take over the anti-Han force headed by Gou, if possible, and make Gou return to the pan-Blue camp. The second priority is to hope that Mayor Ko to join the election race or former Vice President Annette Lu, who is recommended by Formosa Alliance as its presidential candidate, can pass the petition threshold. As both Ko and Lu come from the pan-Green camp, their presence in the presidential race will have a more negative impact on the DPP than the KMT. 

From: https://udn.com/news/story/11091/4051950

Featured Opinion

Taiwan’s New Risk: Four Seas + Four Independences

By Su Chi

United Daily News, September 14, 2019

 

The recent behavior of the Tsai administration toward Hong Kong’s turmoil seems to indicate that it cares more about winning the January 2020 election than the new strategic risk for Taiwan.


Taiwan is an island located at the center of East Asia and at the crossroads of transportation routes of all the neighboring countries. Hence Taiwan is sensitive, even vulnerable to the vicissitudes of its environment. Over the past 40 years when East Asia was focused on economic development, Taiwan has benefitted from its geographic location. For example, Taiwan was a factory in the US military supply chain during the Vietnam War; Taiwan’s economic growth was propelled by Japan’s “Flying Geese Paradigm;” Taiwan gained enormously from China’s “reform and opening-up.” Taiwan’s soft power, such as its open and benevolent character, ample flexibility and innovation, fluent Chinese, English and Japanese proficiency, easily found a niche and thrived under this favorable environment.


Unfortunately, the good times are over. The main focus of East Asia has recently shifted from economy to military, turning cooperation to confrontation, and stability to instability. Examples abound. The US and China have changed their relationship from “engagement” to “competition,” resulting in trade war and technology war. The US recently withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in order to deploy mid-range missiles to counterbalance China’s rise. North Korea has repeatedly test-fired their ballistic missiles. Japan and South Korea have quarreled over history, economic, even military issues. The Chinese and Russian fighters jointly entered the air defense identification zones of Japan and South Korea. The turmoil of Hong Kong has continued for months with no end in sight. The PLA has deployed anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles with ranges reaching nearly the entire South China Sea, and is currently building an overseas base in Cambodia. The conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir has intensified in recent months. The PLA aircraft and naval ships circled near Taiwan frequently, even crossing over the median line of the Taiwan Strait and stayed there a rather long time. Quite a few foreign military aircraft and naval ship have passed through the Taiwan Strait in recent years.

 

Consequently Taiwan’s role is viewed differently. Formerly seen as the center of the whole region, Taiwan now is treated more as the midpoint of a line or a wall. The wall is what has been commonly called “the first island chain” stretching from the Korean Peninsula, Japanese Archipelago, Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa), Taiwan to the Philippines. Those inside the wall don’t want outsiders to come in, while those outside don’t want the insiders to go out. Taiwan, due to its central location, has thus become a contested ground for the strategists on both sides. Among all the contestants, Beijing seems to value Taiwan more than Washington does. The US is after all a global power with commitments worldwide, and suffers from “tyranny of geography” vis-à-vis Taiwan. Yet to Beijing, Taiwan is not only strategically vital due to geographic proximity, but also carries deep historical and sentimental values, thus a highly sensitive component in the domestic politics inside China - which is not the case in the US.

 

Most importantly, Taiwan happens to be located at the intersection of the so-called “Four Seas” and “Four Independences.” Four Seas are, from north to south, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. All four are hotly contested by the US and China. Four Independences refer to the four “soft bellies” of Beijing: Taiwan Independence, Hong Kong Independence, Tibetan Independence, and Uyghur Independence.

 

All of the Four Seas have undergone some turbulence in the past 70 years, but never all at once. Hence it was relatively easy for major powers to manage them. Most unusually from 1975, the end of the Vietnam War, to 2000 when Taiwan Strait again became choppy, Four Seas had managed to maintain peace and stability for a quarter of a century, allowing all the countries in the region to step up their economic development.

 

Unfortunately, all the Four Seas have been roaring since 2016. Some have been seeing strong winds, heavy rains and giant waves, others with dark clouds, foretelling the looming storm. At this critical juncture, the US and China have ceased their decades-long “strategic dialogue” due to recent trade war. The communication between the Tsai administration and Beijing was also suspended. Consequently, the disputes of the Four Seas are left drifting when proper management is needed most.

 

At this moment, it behooves Taiwan to look after itself while weathering the storm. Taiwan would be extremely lucky if she could calm the waters in the dire Strait, steer itself away from becoming a bargaining chip between the two competing powers, and avoid being dragged into the storm of the other three Seas. It is beyond comprehension that the Tsai administration dare take upon itself the Four Independences which fall exclusively within Beijing’s domain.

 

The interference of the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) and its affiliated organizations in Hong Kong has been an open secret for some time. On the day of the July 1st protest marches, DPP Secretary General Lou Wen-jia held a video conference with Secretary General Joshua Wong of Demosistō of Hong Kong. In March 2019 Taiwan Foundation for Democracy held “A Civil Society Dialogue on Securing Religious Freedom in the Indo-Pacific Region” in Taipei with many executives of the Tibetan and Uyghur overseas organizations attending. In July this year Lou Wen-jia went to India to meet with the Dalai Lama and invited His Holiness to visit Taiwan. Lou also announced that a bilateral direct channel of communication was established.

 

These kinds of behavior show that President Tsai Ing-wen, in an attempt to get re-elected, has changed Taiwan’s cross-strait policy from a defensive “maintaining-the-status-quo” approach to an offensive “changing-the-status-quo” approach. She even dare go straight toward the soft bellies of Beijing. One need not be too surprised if the hardliners in Beijing would demand for an early and once-and-for-all solution to their “Taiwan problem.”

 

The environment is volatile enough for Taiwan. It is in the best interest of Taiwan now to heed the old adages: “to pursue good fortune and avoid impending calamity” and “be wise and stay prudent to save one’s own skin.” Taiwan should not stir up the Four Independences further when the Four Seas are still tempestuous. It is imprudent to play with fire, and the DPP better stop before it’s too late.

 

(The contributor is the chairman of Taipei Forum and former Secretary General of the National Security Council)


From: https://udn.com/news/story/7339/4047872?utm_source=linemobile&utm_medium=share

 

This Week in Taiwan

September 8: Former President Chen Shui-bian attended a banquet to rally for the Taiwan Action Party Alliance, a newly formed political party by Taiwan independence supporters. This is Chen’s first public speech in five years since being granted medical parole away from prison. Although the Tsai administration has ordered that Chen, who is seeking medical treatment, should not go on stage, speak publicly, talk about politics, or accept interviews by the media, Chen said that he does not care and challenged the government to arrest him. The Taichung Prison has yet to take legal action.

September 10: Kung-Chung Liu (劉孔中) was asked to resign from his part-time researcher post at Academia Sinica for teaching in mainland China. Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng held a press conference and questioned political intervention in academia. Chen argued that those who study or teach in China may easily be identified by the Mainland Affairs Council as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agents and be deprived of lawful part-time work. The Legislative Yuan will convene soon, and whether the proposed “CPP Agents” bill backed by President Tsai Ing-wen passes will be a major spotlight.

September 11: Mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed that Lee Meng-chu (李孟居), an advisor to a local township of Pingtung County, was arrested and being investigated for “engaging in criminal activities that endanger national security.” It is understood that Lee is pro-DPP, following the protests in Hong Kong, and lost contact after entering Shenzhen from Hong Kong. He was suspected of carrying politically sensitive items.

September 13: According to the Judicial Yuan, Shih Mu-chin (石木欽), chair of the Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission, was found to have engaged improperly and dined with parties of cases under trial while he served as a judge in the Supreme Court and High Court. Shih’s actions are said to have seriously injured judicial ethics, and he has since resigned as chairman. The Judicial Yuan will continue to inquire into Shih's administrative responsibility. Shih was appointed by President Tsai Ing-wen in 2017 and recently issued a sanction against National Taiwan University President Kuan Chung-min. Shih claims to have been sacrificed in a political struggle because his decision is not fitting with the times.

September 15: Former President Ma Ying-jeou and KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu attended a autumn tea reception for Taiwanese businessmen in China. Han embraced Ma when the former president proceeded to deliver remarks, doing away with speculation that the two men are in discord. A week earlier, Han had a successful rally of 300,000 in New Taipei, but Ma was cut off while delivering a speech. Although Han apologized to Ma the next day, the two people had not met each other for several days.

September 16: The Solomon Islands government held a cabinet meeting and decided to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognize the Chinese mainland. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu promptly held a press conference announcing immediate suspension of 36-year-long diplomatic relations and termination of all bilateral cooperation programs. In an official statement, President Tsai Ing-wen condemned China for repeatedly suppressing Taiwan’s international space. Solomon Islands is the sixth country (after Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, and El Salvador) to have ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan since President Tsai took office in 2016. The Republic of China (Taiwan) currently has 16 diplomatic allies.

Taiwan Weekly is a newsletter released every week by Fair Winds Foundation, Taipei Forum, and Association of Foreign Relations that provides coverage and perspectives into the latest developments in Taiwan.

The conclusions and recommendations of any Taiwan Weekly article are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the institutions that publish the newsletter.

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