Taiwan splinter candidate James Soong announces bid for presidential race, boosting opposition poll hopes

A 73-year-old Taiwanese politician announced on Thursday he would run for president in January, likely acting as a spoiler boosting the chances of the independence-leaning opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival to win.

James Soong is chairman of the People First Party (PFP), a splinter party he formed 15 years ago that has been siphoning members of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), unhappy with political infighting and its unpopularity over a perceived creeping dependence on giant neighbour mainland China.

The once powerful KMT politician has run and lost three elections as either a presidential or vice-presidential candidate.

“I shall return!” Soong shouted into a hotel ballroom crowded with around 350 supporters hoisting orange party flags.

Soong and his PFP hold pro-unification views similar to the KMT.

The KMT fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war against Mao Zedong’s communists in 1949. Beijing has since viewed the island as a renegade province and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control.