The man who aims to be Taiwan's president: Foxconn's Gou

Imperious style built tech giant but the test will be delicate US-China balance

20190420N Terry Gou announces his intention to run

Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou tells reporters in Taipei that he is considering running for the presidency on April 16. (Central News Agency/Kyodo)

LAULY LI and CHENG TING-FANG, Nikkei staff writers

April 21, 2019 01:00 JST

TAIPEI -- Hours after a strong earthquake shook the east coast of Taiwan on Thursday, Foxconn's Terry Gou was spotted in downtown Taipei, squatting down to peer at the road. Running his hands over the buckled surface, the founder of the world's largest iPhone maker declared that Taiwan needed to do more to protect itself against earthquakes.