Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of Foxconn Technology Group, pulled out of next year's presidential election in Taiwan, a move that may help unite the opposition Kuomintang.
Gou apologized to his supporters in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday outlining his decision to withdraw from the race as an independent. After he quit the Kuomintang last week, he had come under pressure from opposition leaders, including former President Ma Ying-jeou, to drop out of the race and support their nominee to help return the China-friendly party to power.
"With this poor election climate and prevailing populism, I'm not willing to participate in this political farce, not only for my own personal and factional interests, but also because class struggle is tearing Taiwan apart," Gou said in a video released Tuesday.