The People First Party (PFP) yesterday publicly claimed a presidential election registration form for PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), promising that Soong would complete the necessary application procedures and confirm his candidacy in the next few days.
PFP spokesperson Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) secured the form from the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday morning. The party would launch a petition on Thursday and set about collecting 1 million signatures to determine the popularity of a Soong presidential bid.
The number of signatures required to qualify for registration as a presidential candidate is 250,000. Soong, 69, said he would not agree to run unless he collected at least 1 million signatures.
“The PFP will follow all CEC regulations for Mr Soong’s presidential candidacy and we will announce a vice presidential candidate by Tuesday,” Huang said.
Soong has discussed a possible presidential bid since July when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) first sought to cooperate with the PFP in the legislative election.
Despite the tentative nature of his candidacy, some see Soong’s presidential bid as dangerous for the KMT, given the closeness of the race between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Huang yesterday dismissed speculation about Soong’s running mate, saying only that none of the alleged candidates mentioned in the local media were on the PFP’s list.
Former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德), PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (張昭雄) and Grace T.H.W. Group chairman Winston Wang (王文洋) have been mooted as possible running mates for Soong.
KMT spokesperson Lai Su-ju (賴素如) said that the party respected Soong’s decision, but president Ma’s re-election campaign would not be affected by a Soong presidential bid.
Meanwhile, in his latest effort to appeal to younger voters, Ma’s re-election campaign office plans to hold five “E-National Affairs” forums around the country, during which Ma will meet with netizens.
According to the office, the first forum will be held in Greater Kaohsiung today and in Hualien tomorrow. Participants are invited to discuss the economy, politics and other national issues with Ma.
Meanwhile, another presidential aspirant, Lee Hsing-chang (李幸長), yesterday filed his application and the NT$1 million (US$33,800) registration fee with the CEC.
Lee, a 59-year-old dumpling franchise operator and his running mate, Taiwanism Party Vice Chairman Wu Wu-ming (吳武明), completed the registration process while their supporters looked on.
Famous for launching the “Snails Without Shells” movement in 1989, Lee attracted 60,000 people to join a rally in Taipei to protest skyrocketing housing prices.
He said yesterday that fighting for fair housing was his lifetime mission.
“The housing problem is so serious, it reflects the robbery of many by only a few,” he said, reiterating that his political platform would promote housing justice, the elimination of corporate influence from politics, the establishment of a nuclear-free country and push for regime change in China.
Lee must now collect 250,000 signatures from eligible voters in order to confirm his candidacy.
Only those presidential candidates who represent a political party that won a minimum of 5 percent of the vote at the last presidential or legislative election are exempt from the requirement to secure the signatures of 250,000 supporters.
Individual aspirants must collect signatures from at least 1.5 percent of all eligible voters in order to become an official candidate. They have until Nov. 5 to do so.
As of now, Ma and Tsai are the only confirmed presidential candidates.
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