Taiwanese business tycoon Terry Gou, founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. known by its trade name Foxconn, declared Monday his candidacy for the island's next presidential election in January as an independent.

The 72-year-old billionaire, who established a major supplier of Apple Inc. products, is the fourth major candidate in the race. The move is expected to work in favor of Vice President Lai Ching-te, leader of the Democratic Progressive Party, with Gou likely to further fragment votes among challengers to the ruling party.

At a Taipei press conference on Monday, Gou promised to bring peace to the Taiwan Strait for the next 50 years and lay a deep foundation of mutual trust between the self-ruled island and mainland China.

He blamed the independence-leaning DPP for leading Taiwan in the direction of war, saying the party must be ousted from office.

"Taiwan needs politics that speaks the truth, a government with a future, a country without war and a capable president," Gou said, while vowing to "never let Taiwan become the next Ukraine," referencing Russia's invasion of the Eastern European country.

China has been stepping up military pressure against Taiwan since Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP was elected as the island's leader in 2016. The 66-year-old president, whose second four-year term will expire next year, is ineligible for re-election.

Lai, 63, who is currently a front-runner in the presidential election, has been labeled by Beijing as a "troublemaker" who clings to the separatist position seeking Taiwan's independence.

Two other key presidential candidates are former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, 64, chairman of the Taiwan People's Party, and New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih, 66, from the main opposition Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang. In May, Hou won KMT nomination over Gou in the election.

Gou will need to collect about 290,000 voter signatures within 45 days to formally run as an independent candidate.

Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately since they split in 1949 due to a civil war. Beijing views the democratic island as a renegade province and remains adamant about its eventual unification, even if it means using force.

==Kyodo

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