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
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