Foxconn founder Terry Gou picks Netflix hit show actress as presidential running mate
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At a news conference in Taipei, Mr Terry Gou introduced veteran actress Tammy Lai Pei-hsia as his running mate.
PHOTO: AFP
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TAIPEI – Mr Terry Gou, the founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn, said on Thursday that his running mate in Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election would be Ms Tammy Lai Pei-hsia, an actress who starred in a high-profile Netflix drama.
After months of speculation, billionaire Gou announced his run as an independent candidate in August,
At a news conference in Taipei, Mr Gou introduced the veteran actress, author and singer as his running mate.
Ms Lai played a presidential candidate in the hit Taiwanese Netflix show Wave Makers earlier in 2023. At the end of the show, the character she plays wins the election.
That series, about the members of an election campaign team – including a supportive manager who convinces a young staff member who was sexually harassed that the issue is too important to be swept under the rug – kicked off a renewed #MeToo movement in Taiwan.
“I’m quite open-minded. I told myself last year that I would set no ceiling for myself, and I didn’t expect I’d actually be raised up this far,” Ms Lai told reporters.
“After meeting chairman Gou two or three times, I was very sure he’s someone I could cooperate with, because he’s fascinating,” she added. “I told him, ‘We’re going to have fun’.”
Mr Gou has been trying to unite the anti-DPP vote, but has so far not managed to reach agreement with either main opposition party Kuomintang or the small Taiwan People’s Party on how that might work.
The other parties have yet to announce running mates for their presidential candidates.
Mr Gou must gather close to 300,000 voter signatures by Nov 2 to qualify as an independent candidate, according to election regulations. He needed to decide his running mate before he could collect signatures.
The Central Election Commission will review the signatures and announce the results by Nov 14.
Mr Gou stepped down as Foxconn chief in 2019 and resigned as a company board member in September. REUTERS
