Frank Hsieh mulls running for president in 2008

Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said on Monday that he was considering whether to run for the presidency in 2008 and when to announce any bid.

During an interview with SET TV, Hsieh said that any announcement would be made as soon as possible because the election was only a year away.

National tour

But Hsieh said that he first needed to complete a tour of the nation's 23 counties and cities to assess the viability of a campaign and to evaluate public support.

In light of the number of potential candidates for the presidency within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Hsieh said the party could mediate between them before the party primary is held to decide on a ticket.

Hsieh said that the DPP had to win by at least 250,000 votes in the next presidential election to ensure political stability.

Asked about whether Hsieh would pick Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as his running mate, Hsieh said that such a proposal would be impolite to Su, who is widely believed to be another DPP candidate for the presidency.

Running mates?

On whether former Kaohsiung acting mayor Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) could be another choice as his running mate, Hsieh said that he had never discussed the matter with her.

On cross-strait policy, Hsieh said Taiwan must maintain its prestige as an independent, sovereign state, but should not adopt a closed-door policy toward China.

Asserting that Taiwan had to open up to the world, Hsieh said he supported removing the ban on direct cross-strait transport, business and mail links as long as this did not threaten Taiwan's security.

Taiwan should also reject China's attempt to compel Taiwan to accept the "one China" principle as a precondition for opening direct cross-strait links, he said.