Campaigning for the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) top post continued this weekend, despite a revelation from party chairman hopeful Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
During a conversation with Lien on June 6, Wang said Saturday night, Lien told Wang that he was actually still interested in running for the chairmanship. However, said Wang to supporters Saturday, Lien had decided not to run because "the teacher should not run alongside with the students."
Wang made his comments when campaigning for the chairmanship in Tainan.
The comments Friday shed some light on Lien's true intentions regarding the chairmanship.
While there had been a growing movement of KMT supporters calling on Lien to continue on as chairman, Lien had remained vague on his intentions up until the deadline to register for the chairmanship.
While Wang's fellow chairmanship contender, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) signed up June 6, Wang registered his candidacy June 7, a day before the party's deadline for entering its July 16 chairmanship election.
Prior to registering, Wang had maintained that he would drop out of the race should Lien decide to enter the election and had voiced support for a third Lien term in the KMT's top post.
When he registered on the June 7, however, Wang said it was his encouraging conversation with Lien had finally convinced him to enter the election.
Speaking in reaction to Wang's news, KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (
Lien has already said that he is neither a main nor a supporting character in the chairmanship election, said Cheng yesterday, adding that the party central anticipates a fair competition between Wang and Ma for the chairmanship.
Meanwhile, both Wang and Ma continued their campaigns this weekend, with Ma mingling with supporters in Yunlin County and Wang spending time in Chiayi.
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