Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), who is widely reported to be eyeing the presidency, has invited two opposition presidential aspirants to discuss cooperation to challenge the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate, Vice President William Lai, who is leading in the polls.
At a banquet held on Thursday by a so-called “alliance on mainstream public opinion” that he initiated, Gou said the opposition camp needed to work together if it hoped to defeat the DPP in January’s presidential election and push for Taiwan’s democratic development.
The main opposition candidates are New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Gou is said to be considering an independent run at the presidency, although polls currently have him in fourth place were he to declare his candidacy.
While Gou acknowledged he lacked the election experience of Hou and Ko, he said Taiwanese want to see cooperation and unity in the opposition camp, and that mainstream opinion favors cross-strait peace, economic prosperity and clean politics.
Given that environment, Gou invited Hou and Ko to sit down and discuss an alliance focused on defeating the DPP’s Lai, whom Gou described as the “big bad wolf” in the fable The Three Little Pigs.
In that story, the three pigs fought off the wolf’s attacks by uniting behind a solid house made of bricks built y the youngest little pig, Gou said.
Such an alliance is how the opposition could work to defeat Lai and his party, he said.
The pro-independence DPP has undermined cross-strait ties and put Taiwan at risk of war with China, while also weakening Taiwan’s democratic mechanisms, he said.
Gou did not say what form this alliance would take or his role in it, but the appeal and invitation came as Gou himself has divided opinion in the opposition camp after losing to Hou in the KMT nomination process earlier this year.
Rather than holding an open primary, the KMT opted to “recruit” Hou as its nominee over Gou, citing internal party poll data that favored Hou.
Prior to the nomination process, Gou said that he would support whoever was nominated, but has since appeared to have gone back on his pledge, hurting support for Hou.
Ko did not immediately respond to Gou’s invitation, while Hou yesterday said he would visit Gou in person to demonstrate his sincerity in asking the Hon Hai founder for advice.
Hou said he tried to visit Gou three times in the past, but nothing was ever arranged.
In a response that could suggest a shift in his position, Gou seemed interested in meeting with Hou, and suggested that bygones be bygones.
KMT legislative caucus head William Tseng (曾銘宗) said that more than 60 percent of voters wanted to see the DPP defeated in the presidential race and that his party would do its best to achieve the goal.
He said the KMT welcomed any communication within the opposition camp.
TPP Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said Ko, rather than Gou, was the proper person to call on the opposition camp to unite, because Ko is ahead of Hou in most opinion polls.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS