Despite having lost to then-Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential primary four years ago, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) seems intent on making a comeback. So far, the biggest obstacle in Gou’s revenge play is New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), who was re-elected in a landslide victory in November last year and is widely believed to be the KMT’s favored candidate to run in next year’s presidential election.
To be elected in Taiwan, a candidate needs to have charisma, a big personality or a decent image, and most importantly, the ability to stir up the public to vote. Hou’s prevarication and appalling oratory skills have led to a continuous slide in his approval ratings, with the nickname “Hou Hou GPT” saying a thing or two about people’s frustration.
Capitalizing on Taiwanese’s taste for political drama, Gou took over the public discourse with a series of controversial remarks in the past week, be it is his proposal to use robots to fight the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, or the old trick of attacking the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government over the purchase of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. Unlike Hou, Gou has no fear of offense. He can say whatever is on his mind — a trait shared by populist leaders that allows them to shape themselves as one who stands with the people and speaks for them.
In the eyes of critics, Gou’s outlandish remarks are slips of the tongue or demonstrate a lack of civic virtues. However, in the deep-blue camp, they are words of integrity and truth, albeit with some minor flaws. As they have supported a demagogue like Han, they would not care if the former richest man in Taiwan wrote them bad checks or gave empty promises. What they need is someone who can take down Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the DPP’s presidential candidate. It does not matter who the KMT candidate is, as long as they can put an end to the DPP’s governance. So far, Gou seems to be scoring a point in this regard. While Gou’s “populist” remarks might be ludicrous, his “Han-like” behavior and rhetoric have successfully replaced Han, ending all hopes of Han making a comeback.
Critics have attacked Gou’s campaign team for being out of touch with Taiwanese political culture and allowing him be a loose cannon, but perhaps running for president is not Gou’s ultimate goal. As it is improbable that the KMT would nominate him as its candidate, Gou might be using the political campaign for other reasons, whether it is to protect his corporate interests, create publicity or elevate his prestige. He could have ignored the KMT and, with his wealth and reputation, run for president as an independent candidate by garnering the requisite signatures — just as former People First Party (PFP) chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) did in 2000.
Amid this drama, the most hapless character might be KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫). As Hou and Gou remain on cordial terms and have not engaged in mudslinging, Chu’s plan of presenting himself as the party’s third option has failed to pass. The only card he has left up his sleeve is his right to nominate the candidate.
It remains to be seen whether Gou’s popularity would continue to rise over the next few weeks. If he gains enough support, the KMT would have to come up with a credible reason to convince the public of Hou’s superiority. In the meantime, Hou would have to pull out all the stops if he wishes to remain the party’s candidate of choice. After all, politics is about narrating a story, and anyone would prefer reading a sensational story over reading ChatGPT’s reply.
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