David Huang quits TSU, wants to run as DPP legislator

Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator David Huang (黃適卓) withdrew from the party yesterday, saying he would join the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to run in the legislative election in January if he wins tomorrow's opinion poll.

Huang said his decision came after the party revoked his legislative candidacy on Tuesday and refused to expel TSU Legislator Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛).

Huang said on Tuesday he would leave the party if it failed to dismiss Lai and nullify her candidacy for legislator-at-large. Huang also asked the party to remove members of the "anti-Chen campaign" at party headquarters.

The campaign was launched by former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) last year to force President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to resign amid allegations he, his wife and his closest aides were guilty of corruption.

The TSU revoked Huang and TSU Legislator Yin Ling-ying's (尹伶瑛) candidacies in the legislative election after the pair defied the party's warning to refrain from making remarks detrimental to the party.

Huang said yesterday he and his DPP rival in Taipei City's Wanhua (萬華) and Zhongzheng (中正) districts, Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), have agreed to let polls decide who should run, for the sake of pan-green unity. Huang said he would endorse Tuan if he loses in tomorrow's poll.

Yin yesterday criticized her party for sabotaging the unity of the pan-green camp, adding that the TSU's selfish decision would only lead to its demise.

Saying that she was in a "complicated" state of mind, Yin yesterday did not say whether she would drop out of the election, but said she would let opinion polls decide whether she or her DPP contestant should run.

TSU spokeswoman Chou Mei-li (周美里) yesterday declined to comment on the matter, saying the party "understood" the legislators' decisions.

"We will not comment on the matter because they are engaging in a soap opera," Chou said.