Foxconn CEO Terry Gou (郭台銘) has been an unusual presence in the news in the past few days, with Gou hinting to Taiwanese media that he might seek to run in the Kuomintang (KMT) presidential primary, and making a number of high-profile public appearances. Gou then finally declared a run earlier today, with the claim that he was told to run by the sea goddess Mazu.
Gou, Taiwan’s richest man, has long been touted as a possible presidential candidate for the KMT in 2020 elections, but he has been relatively quiet in the past half year. Nevertheless, Gou has been overshadowed in the past half year by current Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜). Han is a figure who notably has a similar public persona to Gou, given the view of Han as a heterodox candidate whose background is more in business than in politics, and who breaks from political norms because of his willingness to speak frankly and boldly, even when this ruffles feathers.
This is a public persona similar to Gou’s. Likewise, both Gou and Han’s public personas tout their business achievements, as the CEO of FoxConn and the former CEO of the Taipei Agricultural Marketing Promotion Corporation respectively. That being said, Han is no newcomer to politics, having previously served as a legislator from 1993 to 2002, yet this has escaped notice by many members of the public.
