Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has ruled out running for president either in 2012 or 2016.
“It is out of the question,” he said in an interview published in yesterday’s Chinese-language Lianhe Zaobao.
“The KMT should focus on rallying behind President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to secure his re-election in 2012,” said the mayor, who is widely seen as a possible KMT presidential candidate should Ma’s low popularity preclude a second term.
Irritated by the interviewer’s repeated questions on the possibility of him making a presidential bid, Hu said: “I have already told you three times that it is out of the question. How can I get this across to you?”
The paper said Hu is considered one of the KMT’s most prominent figures, along with Ma and Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫), but the mayor said he preferred to remain at his current post rather than serve in the central government.
The report said Hu’s popularity was hard to explain because, while he doesn’t bungle his duties, his performance is not exactly brilliant.
Hu’s popularity has raised hopes among KMT supporters that he might run instead of Ma on the KMT ticket in the 2012 presidential election, given Ma’s poor showing in recent of public opinion polls.
The mayor’s supporters hold high expectations for him, even after he suffered a mild stroke a few years ago.
In February, his supporters erected a huge billboard in Taichung that read: “Support Jason Hu as the 2012 presidential candidate.”
It forced Hu to nip the idea in the bud by stating his position publicly.
Hu, who will run for mayor of the new municipality to be created by merging Taichung City and Taichung County later this year, said the KMT was likely to retain control in three of the five new municipalities and hopefully would win one of the other two.
“We expect to win in the municipalities of Taipei, Sinbei and Taichung, and are not ruling out victories in Tainan and Kaohsiung,” he said
In the interview, which was conducted in Taichung on Monday, the mayor said that Taiwan’s power lies not in its armed forces, but in its well-developed democracy and economy.
“Democracy has earned the country credit, while our economy gives us the power to engage other states,” he said.
Hu, who served as foreign minister between 1997 and 1999, said Taiwan’s relations with China and the US were at their best ever, and that Taiwan was also improving relations with Singapore.
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