Terry Gou Can Still Render Assistance in Removing the DPP from Power

 Terry Gou Can Still Render Assistance in Removing the DPP from Power

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

September 18, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

Terry Gou chose to announce his withdrawal from the race on the eve of the deadline for registering as an independent presidential candidate, demonstrating his pragmatic judgment over political realities, avoiding the question of becoming mired in "disloyalty to the nation" and "lack of legitimacy" during the election campaign, avoiding the burden of charges for splitting the KMT, and reserving ample room for his participation in affairs of the country and social reforms in the future. More importantly, after his withdrawal, Terry Gou still has a lot of energy and resources to push for the goal of “removing the DPP from power”, which was precisely the original motivation for his campaign.

This time, Taiwan society has launched a “fad for the Republic of China”, which was first pushed for by the Han Kuo-yu vogue, and Terry Gou’s "national flag cap" followed in churning the waves. It may be seen that Han and Gou’s direction is consistent in “striving for the economy”; the duo’s national identity is practically the same, their charisma is extraordinary, and there is huge room for complementarity in their political experience and management careers. Han Kuo-yu has the backing of "grassroots Blue", while Terry Gou enjoys the support of "professional Blue". The two and their supporters should jettison their biases and join hands in pushing for the engineering of “removing the DPP from power”, and not contending in different courts or slipping into rupture and divisions.

Terry Gou’s sense of mission for the country cannot be questioned; he made a correct choice at the last moment, not betting on his lifetime reputation in a one-time election. This must have been that an entrepreneur’s rationality and pragmatism had exerted their effect. After Terry Gou’s withdrawal from the race, Ko Wen-je, whose Taiwan People's Party just completed one month in existence, cavalierly announced that he would not register as an independent candidate. On the other hand, former Vice President Annette Lu, however, accepted the endorsement of the “Formosa Alliance”, a pro-Taiwan independence party, and other political parties in registering her candidacy for the race. The withdrawal in one camp and advancement in another have made the original situation of duel between “a split in the Blue and a united Green” undergone subtle changes overnight.

For the last several months, the KMT has squandered precious time and efforts in internecine fights, wasting an excellent situation. Now, through the righteous move of Terry Gou’s withdrawal from the race, the party must seize the opportunity to galvanize solidarity and cooperation. Only by removing the DPP from power can the Blue camp recreate the nation’s pride and social harmony. Although Terry Gou has withdrawn from the race, with his experiences and wisdom, he still has much room to develop in the battlefield of this campaign. His role may not be at the forefront of the troops, but he must be in the sessions of campaign strategies.

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