Terry Gou, the founder of Foxconn and a prospective presidential candidate, announced on Tuesday that he had no present plans to visit China. Apple Inc. relies heavily on Foxconn.
China’s periodic staging of military maneuvers near the island to support sovereignty claims that Taiwan’s democratically elected government rejects has heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing in the run-up to the January election.
This month, Gou, one of Taiwan’s most famous politicians, ran for the presidential candidacy of the Kuomintang, the opposition party that has always backed close ties with China.
Gou, 72, said at a news conference in Taipei, “I don’t have this plan for the time being,” when asked whether he would join former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in China.
“However, anything beneficial to the Republic of China, anything beneficial to cross-Strait peace, anything beneficial to cross-Strait trade and economic exchanges, I will do everything in my power to promote and implement,” he concluded, using the more formal name for Taiwan.
After returning from a campaign tour that included visits to the United States and Japan, Gou attended a news conference.
Former Foxconn CEO Gou previously stood for the opposition party presidency but lost. In 2019, he resigned from his position.
Ma, a member of the KMT, made history last month by becoming Taiwan’s first former president to visit China.
After losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists in 1949, the defeated government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan. Since then, no contemporary Taiwanese leader has visited China.
The KMT has yet to choose a presidential candidate, although the ruling DPP has already chosen Vice President William Lai.
