August 28: Terry Gou, founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Company (Foxconn), announced his candidacy for president and launched a campaign for signatures. According to Gou, he is running to facilitate the integration of the opposition camp, for integration is the only way to victory. Opposition candidates should negotiate the most appropriate way to integration so as to realize the transfer of political power. When asked about Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih, who he had promised to support, Gou stated that the mainstream public opinion is to remove the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from power, but polls of the opposition KMT and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) candidates were low, and there was no sign of integration. The people are anxious and disappointed.
KMT politicians, including Mayor Wayne Chiang of Taipei and Mayor Lu Shiow-yen of Taichung, immediately expressed their support for Hou and criticized Gou for his lack of integrity.
August 29: The Taipei District Prosecutor's Office found that in the im.B fraud case involving many politicians, more than NT$9 billion (about US$282 million) were defrauded with fake debts over seven years. The prosecutors sought heavy sentences for the main suspect Tseng Yao-feng and others.
As for Vice Premier Tseng Wen-tsan and DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po, who were accused of having close contact with Tseng, the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office stated that it is investigating these allegations separately. Vice Premier Tseng's office stated that it will cooperate with the judicial investigation and withstand scrutiny.
August 29: Mayor Wayne Chiang of Taipei flew to Shanghai to attend the Taipei-Shanghai City Forum. Chiang quoted the words of his grandfather, late President Chiang Ching-kuo, that the times, environment, and trends are changing. The mayor stated the need to adjust the pace of cross-strait relations in the face of realities, promote development pragmatically, and endeavor for a win-win future. In his remarks at the forum, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng stated that history cannot be chosen, but the present can be grasped and the future created. Mayor Chiang emphasized five times that good relations between the two cities can lay the foundation for good cross-strait relations.
August 30: The Biden administration notified Congress that it intends to aid Taiwan with $80 million through the "Foreign Military Financing" channel. The Department of State stated that this is the first such example for Taiwan but did not disclose the content of the notification to Congress as with past arms sales. According to reports, this will be a batch of free military aid to serve the military needs of Taiwan, supplementing that provided by the Biden administration in late July using the Presidential Drawdown Authority.
August 30: In response to the egg shortage in the first half of the year, the Ministry of Agriculture (formerly Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan) imported a large number of eggs and asked traders to cooperate in purchasing, giving them a price differential subsidy. From March to July, a total of 140 million imported eggs were purchased and subsidized. Opposition legislators found that among them, an importer named Chaosi, which had a capital of only NT$500,000 (about US$15,635), established just in September last year, and likely a one-person company, accounted for more than 60 percent of Taiwan's import volume during this period and received a subsidy of nearly NT$175 million (about US$5.4 million), questioning corruption in the process.
August 30: In its Indo-Pacific strategy report, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons stated that Taiwan is already an independent country, the name of which is the Republic of China. Taiwan has all the qualifications for statehood, including a permanent population, defined territory, government, and ability to establish relations with other countries but lacks wider international recognition.
Alicia Kearns, the committee's chair, stated that this is the first such statement made by a British parliamentary report. They acknowledge China's position but do not accept its position. According to Kearns, the Foreign Secretary must firmly and openly support Taiwan and make it clear that Taiwan's right to self-determination will be upheld.
August 31: In its 2023 report on the military capabilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Ministry of National Defense assesses that the possibility and risk of military conflict with Taiwan had increased. Chinese President Xi Jinping may push for a resolution of the Taiwan issue during his third term from 2023 to 2028. According to the report, leaders of Communist China's Central Military Commission (CMC) have qualifications such as combat experience, technological expertise, and familiarity with Taiwan Strait affairs. For example, Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the CMC, participated in battles in the Sino-Japanese War and is continuing service on an exceptional basis. He Weidong, vice chairman of the CMC, was commander of the Eastern Theater Command and is familiar with military preparation affairs related to Taiwan.
September 1: The My Formosa e-newsletter released the latest opinion poll. With four candidates, support for the DPP's William Lai fell from 40 percent to 35.3 percent but is still ranked first. The KMT's Hou Yu-ih rose to second with 17.8 percent, while the TPP's Ko Wen-je fell to 17.1 percent, ranking third. Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn, ranked last with 11.6 percent.
