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Lawrence Chung

Han Kuo-yu, the popular mayor of the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, has hinted at running for president in next year’s much-anticipated election.
But, without elaborating, he said on Tuesday that it would be difficult for him to join other aspirants from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in the primaries.
“Regarding the KMT’s presidential race in 2020, I can’t possibly take part in its primaries under the current [KMT primary] system,” he said in Kaohsiung.
Han chided the KMT for trying to push him towards a run for the primaries, saying that under-the-table political manoeuvres were unacceptable at a time when people wanted reform.

He was referring to a KMT plan to draft him into the primaries without consulting him.
“I love the Republic of China, and I am willing to take all the responsibilities as long as it can help boost the development of the ROC,” he said, using Taiwan’s official name for itself.
Han, a member of the opposition KMT, sensationally overturned predictions in last year’s local elections to win the key port city of Kaohsiung in a landslide. His popularity was widely credited as a reason behind the KMT’s victory in 15 of Taiwan’s cities and counties.
Taiwan’s former premier William Lai refuses to abandon challenge to President Tsai Ing-wen
In most opinion polls, Han leads the field of potential candidates, including President Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, by a wide margin.
Han is seen as a Beijing-friendly mayor. Last month, he met Wang Zhimin and Fu Ziying, the directors of Beijing’s liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Shenzhen Communist Party chief Wang Weizhong.
He said he supported the “1992 consensus”, a verbal understanding reached in that year between the Communist Party and the KMT that there is only “one China”.
Han’s announcement came after Foxconn’s billionaire chairman, Terry Gou, said he would contest the KMT’s presidential primaries, a move that shook the island’s political landscape.

Gou, 68, said that regardless of whether he remained an entrepreneur, he strongly believed Taiwan needed to maintain “peace, stability, the economy and the future”.
Han’s announcement on Tuesday was expected to widen the rift within the century-old party over whether it should hold primaries to select its candidate in line with the existing primary system or to draft Han to run for president, analysts said.
“The fragile unity image rebuilt after Gou declared his presidential bid and pledged to take part in the primaries for a fair and open race is tarnished once again,” said Wang Kung-yi, a professor of political science at Chinese Culture University in Taipei.
Other KMT aspirants, including former New Taipei mayor Eric Chu, former legislature speaker Wang Jin-pyng, and former Taipei county magistrate Chou Hsi-wei, have announced plans to enter the race.
Taiwan’s KMT presidential prospect pledges closer ties with Beijing
They have called for the staging of fair and open primaries. But supporters of Han and some KMT heavyweights have demanded that the party draft Han to run for the presidency as he appears to have a greater chance of winning the presidency.
The DPP is beset by similar problems, with a fight brewing between Tsai and former premier William Lai – once Tsai’s confidant – over whether the party should hold primaries to select the nominee.
“The DPP, which has been troubled by its internal rift over whether it should skip the primary to allow Tsai to run for re-election should take heart from Han’s refusal to join the primaries,” Wang said.




“If Han wants to run for president, he should have clearly and openly declared his bid in the first place instead of waiting until after Gou expressed his wish,” Wang said, adding that it would not only hurt the KMT, but also Han’s image.
KMT legislator Johnny Chiang said the KMT should not allow any under-the-table manoeuvres or “all neutral votes would run away”.
Fan Shih-ping, a political science professor at Taiwan Normal University, said it would be better for Han to stay out of the race, given that Han – who had no previous experience in government – has been mayor for four months and has yet to prove he can run a government except for helping the southern city to win a number of business contracts.
“It is hard to say the support he won during the local government polls could be translated into general support for him in the presidential poll,” Fan said, adding that the DPP’s crushing defeat in the November polls was mostly a result of disappointment with Tsai’s performance.


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Taiwan elections 2020

Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu says run at Taiwan presidency on KMT ticket would have to be on his own terms

Han Kuo-yu is expressing an interest in the KMT candidacy for Taiwan’s presidential election race in 2020. Photo: CNA

In this image made from video, Terry Gou, the head of the world's largest electronics supplier, Foxconn, gestures during a press conference at the Nationalist Party's headquarters in Taipei, Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Gou said Wednesday he plans to run for president of Taiwan, bringing his pro-business and pro-China policies to what is expected to be a crowded field for next year's election. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

FILE - In this April 1, 2019, file photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a military award ceremony at the Presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan. Chinese attempts at military coercion only strengthen Taiwan's resolve to defend itself, the president of the self-governing island republic said Tuesday, April 16, 2019. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP, File)

‘He’s not Taiwan’s Trump’: Beijing adviser writes off Foxconn boss Terry Gou as future president

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Foxconn chairman Terry Gou during the groundbreaking for a new Foxconn plant in Wisconsin last year. Photo: Reuters

Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, center, speaks during a media briefing at the Kuomintang party headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Gou announced Wednesday he's running for Taiwan's presidency, shaking up a race that will determine whether the island moves closer to China. Photographer: Ashley Pon/Bloomberg

Communist Party adviser Xie Maosong says Foxconn boss Terry Gou has little chance of success in the race to become the next president of Taiwan. Photo: Nora Tam

Will Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang draft its star mayor into the race for president against Terry Gou?

Fans greet Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu on his return to Taiwan on Thursday after his trip to the United States. Photo: CNA

In this image made from video, Terry Gou, the head of the world's largest electronics supplier, Foxconn, gestures during a press conference at the Nationalist Party’s headquarters in Taipei, Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Gou said Wednesday he plans to run for president of Taiwan, bringing his pro-business and pro-China policies to what is expected to be a crowded field for next year's election. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

Foxconn tycoon Terry Gou: Taiwan’s wealthiest man - and future presidential candidate

Terry Gou is known in Beijing as a “mainland-friendly business leader”. Photo: AP

Billionaire Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, center, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump, second left, during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Trump announced that Foxconn plans a new factory in Wisconsin, fulfilling the Taiwanese manufacturing giants promise to invest in the U.S. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

News

China

Politics

Han shone in local elections and is leading polls of presidential prospects
Analyst says Han’s inexperience in high office could take shine off candidacy


Han shone in local elections and is leading polls of presidential prospects, but analysts say any KMT plan to draft such an inexperience figure could damage party’s ambitions.


Taiwan

Tsai Ing-wen

Hon Hai Precision Industry

Diplomacy

Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu says run at Taiwan presidency on KMT ticket would have to be on his own terms

Han shone in local elections and is leading polls of presidential prospects Analyst says Han’s inexperience in high office could take shine off candidacy

Han shone in local elections and is leading polls of presidential prospects

Analyst says Han’s inexperience in high office could take shine off candidacy