Terry Gou in another run at Taiwan presidency

Terry Gou, founder of tech giant Foxconn, announced yesterday he is seeking the presidential nomination of Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang on a platform to avoid war with the mainland.

Taiwan will elect a new president in January to succeed Tsai Ing-wen, whose two terms in power have seen soaring tensions with Beijing.

Returning from a visit to the United States, Gou, 72, said "there is the risk war may break out anytime" and that Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party must be voted out to avoid conflict.

Tsai will step down in May 2024 after serving the maximum two terms allowed. Vice President William Lai, 63, will seek the DPP nomination.

"I have to tell young people honestly that voting for the DPP, which upholds Taiwan's independence, hates China and is anti-China, is against your interests," Gou declared.

"We can't take [peace] for granted," he added. "It requires the people to make the right choice."

His announcement came ahead of Tsai meeting US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a stopover in Los Angeles following a visit to Central America.

The meeting will almost certainly enrage Beijing.

After a visit to Taipei last year by McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, Beijing staged huge military drills around Taiwan.

Beijing this week warned McCarthy, a Republican and California native who is second in line to the US presidency, he was "playing with fire" by meeting Tsai.

Taipei also enjoys strong bipartisan support in the US Congress and has grown closer to Washington under Tsai.

McCarthy planned to go to Taiwan but then opted to meet Tsai at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. His office said that the meeting would be "bipartisan," and there were reports over a dozen members of Congress would attend.

The decision to meet in the US was viewed as a compromise that would underscore support for Taiwan but avoid inflaming tensions with Beijing.

Gou ceded control of Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker and a key supplier for Apple's iPhones, in 2019 when he last sought the KMT's presidential nomination.

The bid ended with a loss in party primaries.

The bulk of Gou's investments are in the mainland, where Foxconn employs more than one million workers, raising concerns over a perceived coziness with Beijing.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE