TAICHUNG (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) Chair Eric Chu (朱立倫) confirmed that the party’s presidential nominee will be selected by the end of May. There has been speculation in the press based on alleged leaks from inside the party that the announcement date would be May 17th, and some speculation that it would be May 20th, but no dates have been confirmed by Chu.
This is the big political news everyone is waiting for. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has formally nominated Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has registered in his party’s primary and so far appears to be running unopposed.
Though Chu could still spring a surprise candidate, everyone assumes the choice is between New Taipei Mayor Hou You-ih (侯友宜, background here) and Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘, background here). As explored in previous columns, choosing which primary system to use is a big deal in Taiwan politics, and Chu’s decision to forego a primary, unilaterally granting himself the power to make the choice, was a bold one.
Chu is consulting with local leaders and lawmakers in the party, “consulting the public,” and “continuing to look at the scientific data.” It is with those things in mind that Terry Gou has been campaigning vigorously.
He has been conducting a "Terry Gou has something to tell you" lecture tour at venues around the country laying out his vision for the country. We explored his very controversial speech on cross-strait ties and national defense in a previous column, in which he blamed the United States for putting Taiwan on the path to war, warned against turning Taiwan into an “ammunition dump,” and expressed that through science and technology, Taiwan could keep peace with China.
Robot army
Gou has made more controversial proposals, including the idea of “80,000 robots” to provide national defense, proposing nuclear Small Modular Reactors (SMR) be built in every city and county, and that if he were president all fraud rings in the country would “disappear” within 90 days. While his robot and fraud comments were widely ridiculed, his SMR proposal has produced much discussion and debate on energy security, which is something Taiwan urgently needs, whether it be through SMRs or other solutions.
Gou has also been on the attack, accusing the Tsai administration of trying to obstruct the import of BNT vaccines during the pandemic, something the administration vehemently denies. He was involved in the procurement process and says he will soon lay out a detailed timeline to prove he is right, though that has not yet happened.
Another thing that has not come to light is his response to allegations that 80% of his assets are in China. Gou said he is looking for a good opportunity to explain the situation.
To influence the people within the party that Eric Chu is consulting, Gou has been going on a charm offensive. He has been meeting with politicians, at least the ones willing to meet him, and attending “support Gou banquets” organized by United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) Honorary Vice Chair Hsuan Ming-chih (宣明智).
Hsuan is a curious character with a penchant for political lost causes, being a previous member of the MinKuoTang (MKT) and the Congress Party Alliance (CPA), before joining the People’s First Party (PFP) in 2019. He was a PFP legislative party list candidate in the 2020 election, but the party failed to secure enough votes to qualify for party-list representation.
The banquets appear successful, with respectable numbers of KMT lawmakers and high-profile city councilors attending. His supporters claim that at least half of the KMT caucus supports him, though I suspect some were attending out of courtesy or curiosity.
So far only one report says that former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) will be helping to invite KMT members to attend future dinners. If Wang is backing Gou, that would be a very interesting development, as Wang is one of the craftiest politicians who ever lived.
A bid for Han fans
This brings us to a series of mass campaign rallies, the first of which was held in Kaohsiung.
The choice of location was intentional. Gou wants the army of fans that are still loyal to former Kaohsiung Mayor and KMT 2020 presidential candidate Daniel Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to rally around him.
Ideologically, Gou and Han have very similar deep-blue, Republic of China (ROC) nationalistic ideas and hark back to the economic glory days of the 1980s. There is a problem, though: When Gou and Han were running against each other in the 2019 KMT presidential primary, Gou said some things about Han that infuriated his fans.
Gou issued a public apology to Han. Apparently, Han fans are split in their opinion of Gou, with some hating him but others praising him, though it is unclear how even or uneven that split is.
Press estimates of the crowd ranged from 10,000 to 20,000, but the press in Taiwan always exaggerates crowd sizes. Regardless of the actual number, it was an enthusiastic crowd in the thousands, which is impressive for someone who is only a candidate for nomination by his party.
Much of the rally was dance and musical performances, punctuated by short speeches by Gou supporters. One dance performance featuring people dressed as various military personnel might technically have been illegal, though prosecution is unlikely, as they were not impersonating military personnel for any malicious purpose.
Gou goes mute
It all came across as a Han rally, both in the way the event was held and the audience enthusiastically waving their ROC flags. All doubts that this was modeled on a Han rally were dispelled as Gou made his entrance.
Unlike other politicians, Han would enter from the front and make his way through the crowd, shaking hands with adoring fans on the way. It enhanced his “every man” appeal, his fans loved it, and it made for good TV.
This worked for Gou as well, until he got to the stage, and what followed was one of the most awkward scenes I have ever witnessed at a rally. If you want to watch it, I’d suggest starting from the 1:55:30 mark in the video, which sets the stage for what happens at 1:56.
He goes mute. The entire venue quiets down waiting for him to speak, but he does not say anything as time stretches on.
His face said it all. In spite of all his speeches over the years, he had never faced a political campaign rally crowd, and he was clearly overwhelmed. Finally, after a seemingly endless awkward dead silence, an MC jumped in and said to the crowd that Gou’s heart was filled with emotion and led the crowd in another round of cheers to buy him time to compose himself.
After several rounds of awkward silences punctuated by more rounds of cheers, he finally said this was the first rally he had ever attended and muttered something about coming to Kaohsiung, giving him some leeway. The MC led more cheers.
After the cheers died down, there was a short pause again, but then he said with emotion, “You’re from all over the country, my friends, I love you!” He was starting to get the hang of it, reiterated this was his first rally, and called out some slogans.
Should I start speaking?
Then he froze up a bit again and turned to a guy next to him, asking if he should wear his hat while speaking. Then he bizarrely asked, “Should I start speaking?”
The MC came over, telling Gou everything was ready and what he should talk about, almost as if he was speaking to a child. Finally, after four awkward minutes, Gou finally launched into his speech.
Interestingly, the entire speech was in Hokko, which is not Gou's native language and clearly was not that easy for this man from a 49er background. It probably was too bold a move for his first-ever rally.
Some Taiwanese complained they could not understand him, at least some of the time, but judging by crowd reaction, most of it was understood and appreciated.
Gou was rather wooden and lacked the electric charisma that Han displayed on stage, but overall, aside from the rough start, he did fairly well for someone doing it for the first time. He has a few more on the horizon and he will likely be far better prepared.
Will all of this sway Eric Chu into picking him? Hou is probably still the more likely bet, but Gou is building support in the party and is making waves in the press.
That makes it harder for Chu to easily dismiss him.
