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Taiwan tycoon and presidential hopeful Gou gets tips from Trump
TAIPEI, May 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Taiwan’s wealthiest man and presidential
hopeful Terry Gou said he met Donald Trump inside the White House on
Wednesday with the American leader warning him that the job he is going for
is “tough”.
Gou, the head of tech giant Foxconn, made a surprise announcement last
month that he plans to run for president in next January’s elections after
declaring the sea goddess Matsu urged him to do so.
The 69-year-old tycoon is seeking the nomination of the Beijing-friendly
Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party but his huge factories in the mainland have
sparked concern over his cosiness with Beijing.
A stream of Taiwanese politicians have beat a path to Washington in recent
months, hoping to drum up support within the island’s diaspora and among
influential US officials.
But only Gou has managed to secure a face-to-face with Trump.
“If I am elected president of the Republic of China, I will be a peace
maker and won’t become a trouble maker… I will strengthen Taiwan and the US
economically,” Gou told reporters in Washington after the meeting.
He also boasted of his White House connections in a swipe at the ruling
Democratic Progressive Party, which is much more sceptical of Beijing.
“We have been given the highest courtesy, (an invite) to the Oval Office,
tell me until now which DPP official has such a capability?” he said, later
showing reporters a coaster and pen embossed with Trump’s signature.
Asked what Trump had told him, Gou said: “He replied that (being a
president) it’s a tough job.”
Gou made his billions through Foxconn, which assembles Apple and Huawei
phones as well as parts and accessories for other major international brands.
The bulk of Gou’s investments are in China, employing more than one million
workers in the country where cheap labour helped fuel his company’s meteoric
rise.
Foxconn has vowed to build a $10 billion display screen factory in
Wisconsin, creating 13,000 jobs, with Trump and Gou breaking ground together
at a ceremony two years ago.
But the project has since been hit by uncertainty over how many jobs will
really be created and the huge tax breaks offered to Foxconn.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1215 hrs