Terry Gou, the founder of Foxconn – Apple’s main manufacturer of iPhones – has dropped out of Taiwan’s presidential race.
He announced the decision on Friday, the final day for presidential candidates to register with the election commission.
Gou’s withdrawal came after a breakdown in negotiations among opposition parties to form an alliance against the ruling party’s candidate, William Lai from the Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP.
Taiwan’s presidential race is closely watched because China claims the self-ruled island — a semiconductor powerhouse — as its own territory. There are fears a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could have a significant impact on the global economy and regional security.
Meanwhile, the US is Taiwan’s most important supplier, which irritates Beijing. China’s leader Xi Jinping has called Taiwan “the most important and most sensitive issue” in US-China relations.
China views Lai, the presidential frontrunner, as a separatist. The more opposition candidates there are, the more these votes could be split against the ruling party to ensure Lai’s win.
Gou said in a statement that he chose to “sacrifice myself for the greater good” to prevent a crowded race.
“Taiwan needs to Stop, Reset, Restart. We need a change in the ruling political party to bring change to Taiwan,” he said.
Gou’s announcement ends an eventful campaign for the billionaire who announced his bid for the presidency in late August, saying Beijing wouldn’t be able to use his vast business empire to influence him. To underscore his point, Gou namedropped Apple, Amazon, Tesla, and Nvidia as Foxconn’s clients.
However, China’s authorities launched tax audits and probes into Foxconn’s land use in October, suggesting it valued political power over the economy
Gou also picked Tammy Lai, an actor who played the role of a presidential candidate in Netflix’s “Wave Makers,” to be his running mate. She even renounced her US citizenship to qualify for the run.
Gou’s withdrawal from the race marks the end of his second attempt at becoming president.
He stepped down as Foxconn chairman in 2019 to run, but dropped out of the race after failing to secure the nomination of Kuomintang, or KMT, Taiwan’s main opposition party.
Gou again missed out on KMT’s nomination this year. He resigned from Foxconn’s board less than a week after announcing his latest presidential bid.
Other presidential candidates in the island’s presidential race are DPP’s Lai, KMT’s Hou Yu-ih, and former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan People’s Party.
The election is scheduled for January 13.
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