The immense wealth of Terry Gou (郭台銘), an independent presidential hopeful, lets him buy many things, but one cannot simply buy political acumen.
Negotiations between Gou and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have largely broken down due to Gou’s refusal to compromise. Seeing his presidential campaign as a betrayal, staunch supporters of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are also unlikely to vote for him. Nonetheless, Gou is a gifted showman and continues to be the focus of the media spotlight. It is undeniable that he brings a fresh and unruly vitality to Taiwanese politics.
Gou has attempted to set himself apart from the two other opposition candidates through a variety of publicity stunts, including showing up in front of the press dressed in full military camouflage during this year’s Han Kuang military exercises.
“Taiwanese need peace, not war. That is the message I am sending,” Gou told reporters.
Many see this stunt as distasteful, since Gou is neither an active-duty officer, nor is he affiliated with the armed forces. Yet any publicity is good publicity for an independent candidate. Like former US president Donald Trump, Gou first grabs the headlines and then sells his message.
Gou has selected a female running mate to highlight female voices in politics and create a more equitable culture. Ironically, only days after announcing the actress Tammy Lai (賴佩霞) — whose only “political experience” is portraying a presidential candidate in a Netflix show — as his pick for vice president, Gou’s campaign spokesman said that Lai is a useful “chess piece” and would step down if the TPP and the KMT are willing to nominate the “strongest presidential ticket,” with Gou as the parties’ nominee.
After all that virtue signaling, Gou’s ideal running mate is still a man, either TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) or New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜). The satire practically writes itself.
It is all too easy to dismiss this campaign entirely. However, that Gou still has considerable support — the latest polls show about 10 percent of voters would vote for him — reveals that many are disgruntled with the current two-party system. When people feel that they are not represented by those in power, some might support charismatic newcomers who promise unrealistic and radical changes. Gou’s platform is anachronistic at times, particularly on Taiwan-China relations, but it is also forward-looking with its emphasis on using of technology to improve the lives of ordinary citizens. Gou truly believes that artificial intelligence can solve many of Taiwan’s problems. The appeal of this message lies in its simplicity. However, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true.
Perhaps realizing that his campaign is in a precarious position, Gou has desperately signaled that he is willing to join forces with the TPP and the KMT on multiple occasions. To be taken seriously by either camp, Gou’s campaign must collect enough signatures to qualify for the upcoming election. The question is ultimately whether Gou can tap into his loosely organized grassroots supporters to collect at least 289,000 signatures in a relatively short time. His next moves would be predicated upon the outcome of this signature drive; this might be his endgame.
We have the sea goddess Matsu to thank for bringing us this political spectacle; Matsu apparently came to Gou in a dream years ago and encouraged him to seek office. If Gou chooses to run as an independent, more chaos would be wrought upon the already fractured pan-blue alliance. This is likely Gou’s last waltz in politics, and it sure is entertaining.
Linus Chiou graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia. He is currently serving in the Taiwanese armed forces.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
The military is conducting its annual Han Kuang exercises in phases. The minister of national defense recently said that this year’s scenarios would simulate defending the nation against possible actions the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might take in an invasion of Taiwan, making the threat of a speculated Chinese invasion in 2027 a heated agenda item again. That year, also referred to as the “Davidson window,” is named after then-US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson, who in 2021 warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Xi in 2017
RSS