Foxconn’s Terry Gou quits Kuomintang, paving way for Taiwan presidency bid as an independent
- Billionaire had been asked to throw his support behind KMT candidate Han Kuo-yu, who beat him in the party primaries
- His statement denounces ‘out-of-date party’ with committee members who ‘put their own interests first’

The latest twist came on Thursday when the mainland-friendly opposition party published a half-page advertisement in several major newspapers appealing for unity and asking Gou to cooperate in January’s election with Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu, who beat Gou in the party’s primaries in July.
But instead of being persuaded to give up his bid, Gou chose to leave the party he had rejoined only four months earlier. He is now expected to run as an independent candidate.
“While announcing my withdrawal from the party at this time, I still have my struggles,” Gou said in a statement.
“Emotionally I feel dejected for not being able to continue to fight side by side with the party, but rationally I know I am doing the right thing – a thing that will turn around the fate of the Republic of China,” he said.
Guo said late Taiwanese president Chiang Ching-kuo would have been pained to see the KMT party he once led losing its ideals and its supporters.
“The elections of seven presidents and the three rounds of transfer of power in past decades have indicated that neither the blue [mainland-friendly] camp nor the green [pro-independence] camp are able to bring hope to the Taiwanese people,” he said.