An online drive petitioning People First Party (PFP) chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) to run in the presidential election next year has so far garnered 250,000 signatures, PFP legislative nominee Tuan Wei-yu (段緯宇) said.
Tuan said that in light of the stalled negotiations between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the PFP over next year’s legislative elections, it might be possible to persuade Soong to take part in next year’s presidential election.
Tuan added that during a recent meeting, supporters chanting “Soong for president” had not been explicitly rejected by Soong, who was present at the meeting.
Reiterating PFP Secretary-General Chin Ching-sheng’s (秦金生) recent criticism that the KMT has shown no respect for the PFP since coming to power, Tuan questioned whose “bigger picture” the KMT was talking about when it said it was important to “keep an eye on the bigger picture” during elections.
Tuan cited his nomination as a legislator by the PFP as an example, saying that once the nomination had been made, he received many calls to “back out” of the legislative election in order to smooth the way for KMT nominee Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文).
“Why should I give up my claim in an area that I have cultivated over many years for someone that is being parachuted in,” Tuan said, adding that the inefficiency of the Ma administration had make people long for the efficiency of the former provincial government under Soong.
Earlier this week, Soong said that the PFP would field candidates in next January’s legislative elections, a decision that could split the vote for the KMT-led pan-blue camp.
In a statement issued on Monday, the PFP called on voters to choose carefully in the legislative elections to make sure none of the parties secure “more than half of the legislative seats” to allow the diverse voices of the public to be better heard.
The PFP’s move was widely interpreted by political analysts as a prelude to the collapse of the pan-blue camp, which also includes the New Party, which has advocated unification with China.
KMT spokeswoman Lai Su-ru (賴素如) said on Wednesday that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as chairman of the KMT, has not given up on forging an alliance with Soong in the upcoming legislative elections.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
Additional reporting by CNA
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