KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) yesterday openly encouraged PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (張昭雄) to run for Kaohsiung mayor, saying he would be a very good candidate.
Chang said that he still had no plans to join the race but that he would seriously consider running following Lien's expression of support. He said he would make a final decision in a couple of days.
"All three KMT competitors are ideal in terms of their training, experience and ties with the local community. But since we are cooperating with another party [the PFP], we hope to consider all possible choices, and Chang is a very good candidate," Lien said.
Lien urged Chang to seriously consider joining the race, praising Chang's qualifications and insights on local and national issues.
The Kaohsiung-born Chang, who was PFP Chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) running mate in the 2000 presidential election, was a cardiovascular surgeon and had served as president of the Chang Gung University before he entered politics.
The three KMT aspirants are former vice mayor of Kaohsiung Huang Jun-ying (
On Tuesday, Lien reached a consensus with Soong that the two parties should jointly field one candidate for the year-end Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral elections. They agreed that the KMT's Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would be their joint candidate in Taipei.
Soong, during the meeting with Lien, named Chang as a suitable candidate for Kaohsiung mayor.
The PFP has tried to persuade Chang to run for the mayoralty for the past two months with no success.
If Chang were to join the contest, the two parties would select their joint candidate from Chang and the three KMT aspirants according to an evaluation of their chances of victory.
Chang said he would think over this matter of "great responsibility."
Before making a decision, Chang said, he would need to consult the PFP's supporters in Kaohsiung and possibly all of Kaohsiung's residents.
Chang said he would also have to decide whether he was capable of dealing with the problems of Kaohsiung.
Another consideration, he said, is whether he is better able than the three KMT aspirants to offer Kaohsiung residents a better vision of the future.
The three KMT aspirants yesterday affirmed their intention to vie for the party's nomination but said they would respect any decision reached by the KMT and PFP's cooperative mechanism.
Huang Chi-chuan said he believed Lien asked Chang to run "out of courtesy" to show goodwill to the PFP and thus reciprocate the PFP's support for Ma in Taipei. He said it was unlikely that Chang would agree to run for Kaohsiung mayor.
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