Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday resigned from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), expressing his disappointment at its culture of reactionary politics and backroom horse-trading.
Gou said in a statement that quitting the party was not an easy decision.
While he feels sad about leaving the party, “reason tells me I am doing the right thing, something that will significantly change the fate of the Republic of China [ROC],” he said. “If former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) could see the way the KMT has turned its back on the public and forgotten its ideals he would be heartbroken.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The KMT should not exist just to oppose the Democratic Progressive Party, or to promote its members’ personal interests or to trade favors, he said.
Gou said that he had hoped to change the KMT and bring in more young people when he rejoined the party in April, but over the past several months he had been disappointed to find that “no amount of effort on my part could change the KMT’s culture of reactionary politics and backroom horse-trading.”
Gou expressed the hope that his departure would “expedite the reform and rebirth of the KMT,” while extending his good wishes to the party.
Gou announced that he would resign from the party when his office was asked to comment on an advertisement the KMT published in major newspapers yesterday, calling for party unity and urging Gou to support its presidential candidate, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
Next year’s presidential and legislative elections would determine the fate of the ROC and internal divisions would cause unrest, the KMT ad said.
The ad, organized by former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), was signed by 31 party members, including Lien, KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), former vice president Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄).
The ad was one of the factors that led to Gou’s decision to quit the party, said Evelyn Tsai (蔡沁瑜), deputy chief executive of Gou’s Yonglin Foundation, when returning the Gou’s KMT membership card and certificate of honorary membership, but it was just one of many.
“Things have been building up for a while,” she added.
Ma had visited Gou, urging him to support the KMT’s presidential nominee, before attending a rally for Han in New Taipei City on Sunday, she said.
Gou had tried to convince the former president not to go to the rally and was sad to see the way Ma’s speech had been cut off in a humiliating manner, she said.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Cheng Mei-hua (程美華) said that the KMT does have much room for improvement, but that when Gou rejoined the party with the intention of running for president, he should have known that he would not have everything his own way.
“Run [for president] if you like. Why bother with all the acting?” Cheng said.
Gou was reconfirmed as a member of the KMT in April when the party awarded him the status of honorary member after he offered it an interest-free loan of NT$45 million (US$1.45 million at the current exchange rate) in 2016.
That allowed Gou to participate in the KMT’s presidential primary, which he lost to Han by 17.1 percentage points.
Han’s campaign office said that it was “extremely disappointed” at Gou’s decision, adding that Han would do his best to reform the party and change the nation for the better.
Asked whether Gou would now enter the presidential race, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said: “In Taiwan there are lots of discussions about the candidates for the 2020 election... The process will run its course following the election regulations.”
“Our party is very united at this time,” Tsai said. “We will continue to stay united, so that we can garner the most support and go on to win the election.”
DPP Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said that if Gou did decide to enter the race “it could affect Tsai’s support.”
“She has a double-digit percentage lead over Han right now, but with Gou’s entry, Tsai’s support could be trimmed to a single-digit percentage,” Lai said. “The DPP must be careful about this development.”
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
RSS