Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) urged her not to be manipulated by “some political party” as she begins to collect signatures for her presidential bid.
Speaking to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Cho, Lu said that she had responded: “How is that possible?”
She did not say which political party Cho was referring to.
Over the past few months, many political parties have asked her to run for president, said Lu, who on Tuesday registered as an independent candidate with her running mate, former Nantou County commissioner Peng Pai-hsien (彭百顯).
How could she ask other political parties not to collect signatures for her, Lu asked.
“Why does the DPP not collect signatures for me?” she said. “Of course, it would be impossible for the DPP.”
She added that she welcomes the support of all political parties.
During their meeting, Cho told her that the DPP hopes to win the support of more young people and collaborate with them more, Lu said.
Lu said she told him that she would be pleased if everyone supported the best political party and voted for the best leader.
“If the DPP were more democratic, more progressive ... everyone who cares about Taiwan’s democracy would love it to death,” she said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) still has an opportunity to be re-elected, but she needs to listen to the people more, Lu said.
Lu added that she hopes Tsai would not treat her as an opponent, but rather as her “best friend.”
Asked about a comment by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), for whom she served as vice president for eight years, that the time had passed for her to run for president, Lu said that Chen was last year encouraging her to join the race.
“Have I aged a lot because of one more year?” she asked.
Lu and Peng have until Nov. 2 to collect 280,384 signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Additional reporting by CNA
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