Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn, has collected three times the amount of signatures needed to qualify to run in Taiwan's presidential elections, the government said on Tuesday.
In a statement, Gou thanked his backers for their "enthusiastic support" and vowed to work hard to achieve "peace across the Taiwan Strait."
Gou announced his bid in August, saying he wanted to unite the opposition and ensure the island did not become "the next Ukraine," blaming the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for taking Taiwan to the brink of war by antagonizing China which claims the island as its own territory.