Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海集團) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday confirmed his intention to run in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential primary, saying that he was told to do so in a dream by the goddess Matsu.
“Matsu told me to come out,” Gou said while visiting Cihui Temple (慈惠宮) in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋).
He said he was awaiting instructions from Holy Emperor Guan on how to help the nation’s “poor masses and its youth,” which would be sent to him via public opinion polls.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
In the afternoon, Gou attended a ceremony at which KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) gave him a Central Standing Committee “honorary certificate,” while referring to him as a “comrade” and “fellow party member.”
The certificate was understood to be a response to questions about Gou’s eligibility to run in the party’s primary as he had not been paying dues.
Gou said that the KMT must establish a primary that is “open and in touch with the people” to set a good precedent.
He would not accept the nomination without first going through the primary process, he added.
“A fair, open and transparent primary that is in touch with public sentiment is the first step toward establishing public trust in the KMT and developing the spirit of the party,” he said.
He has always valued peace, stability, economic prosperity and a better future above all else, whether as a businessman or while exploring other opportunities, which he is “very likely to do,” Gou said.
He said he hopes to work with the KMT to help it find its “party spirit and the honor of being a party member,” as well as to help it attract younger members.
Before yesterday’s ceremony, Gou bowed before photographs of Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), and former presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
Gou criticized former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for dismantling Chiang Ching-kuo’s office, which had remained in place until Chen took office.
Gou also said that he fondly remembers a couplet written by Chiang Ching-kuo that reads: “When calculating benefit, calculate for the benefit of the masses. When seeking fame, you should seek to be remembered through all the ages.”
Additional reporting by Chou Hsiang-yun and Lai Hsiao-tung
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS