Foxconn founder Terry Gou has pulled out of the Presidential race in Taiwan. Gou issued a statement which included the phrase “stop, reset, restart.” Gou’s dropping out of the race is probably a relief to Apple.
The Information reports.
Terry Gou, the founder of Foxconn, the world’s largest assembler of iPhones, dropped out of the race to be Taiwan’s next president, hours before a deadline to formally register candidacy for the election on Friday […]
Gou first toyed with the idea of running for the president of Taiwan in 2019, and resigned as Foxconn’s chairman, although he stayed as a director of the board at the time. That bid for Taiwan’s top job eventually failed. In September, Gou resigned from his board directorship and subsequently announced his intention to run for the upcoming presidential election, which is slated in early January.
Forbes translated Gou’s statement.
“Those who achieve great things do not mind their reputation,” the rags-to-riches billionaire said in a statement Friday. “Terry Gou may be forgotten by people, but for the future of the Republic of China, choosing to sacrifice is his way of dedicating all his love to his homeland,” he said, referring to Taiwan’s formal name.
Gou added: “Though dropped out, the ambition remains; STOP, RESET, RESTART. We must win! Alright? Complete the transfer of political power and change Taiwan. God bless the Republic of China!”
Gou had been running in 4th place, and he failed in an attempt to form an alliance with the two main opposition parties. Gou had tried to broker talks between the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party to run together against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, but those efforts failed.
Apple has likely breathed a sigh of relief at the news that Gou was pulling out of the Taiwanese Presidential race, as the campaign could have put Apple between a rock and a hard place, due to its relationship with the Chinese government
One of Gou’s campaign planks was in support of Taiwanese independence, whose ownership is claimed by China. The past couple of years have raised increasing concerns that China would invade Taiwan.
The Chinese government recently announced that it was investigating Foxconn for possible violations of Chinese law regarding both taxes and land use. China will likely drop the investigation now that Gou has dropped out of the race.
Apple likely feared that China’s investigation might lead to disruption of Foxconn’s manufacturing operations, as Foxconn is the major assembling partner for Apple’s iPhone lineup. An estimated 80% of all iPhones sold by Apple are assembled at a single facility in Zhengzhou.
