Comparisons between Terry Gou and Donald Trump go far deeper than their similar taste in headwear.
The News Lens
Date: 2019/04/22
By: Milo Hsieh
Taiwan’s Trump? Foxconn’s Terry Gou Wants to ‘Make the ROC Great Again’
Milo Hsieh grew up in Taiwan and now studies international relations at American University in Washington, DC. He is most interested in the politics and identity of Taiwan.
Cover image by Stellina Chen
Terry Gou, the man behind the success of technology giant Foxconn and Taiwan’s most famous businessman, announced last week his intention to run for president by seeking the Kuomintang (KMT) nomination, saying the sea goddess Mazu had told him in a dream to seek the nation’s top office.
While Gou is known internationally for Foxconn’s role in supplying parts for Apple’s iPhones, his attempt to capture the presidency of Taiwan is reminiscent of the saga of U.S. President Donald Trump’s rise to power.
Credit: Reuters / TPGTerry Gou (R) holds a testimonial next to KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) as he announces his intention to seek the party’s nomination on April 17, 2019.
Terry Gou: A Brutally Efficient Businessman
Terry Gou founded Foxconn in 1974 with the help of NT$100,000 (US$3,250 at current exchange rates) obtained from a “bidding union” (標會), an informal network of capital holder traditionally used to fund personal needs before the establishment of legal credit systems. This amount of cash, significant in the pre-miracle Taiwan where private capital was scarce, draws a close resemblance to the “small loan of a million dollars” Trump used to start his real estate career.
Foxconn cooperated with major US firms such as Hewlett-Packard and Apple in supply chips as Taiwan’s largest and most successful Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). For several years, Gou was Taiwan’s richest man, but he has recently been displaced by Want Want Group’s Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明). Tsai, unrelated to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), is known for his influence and funding of the pro-China CTI Television Inc, recently in the spotlight for its fawning coverage of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
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