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Taiwan
ChinaPolitics

Taiwan’s James Soong Chu-yu may join presidential race but Annette Lu Hsiu-lien falls by wayside

  • 2020 bid would be Soong’s fourth run for top post and he is not expected to win this one either
  • Former vice-president Lu fails to win enough public signatures, blames her former party

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Taiwan’s People First Party Chairman James Soong is considering a run for president in the island’s January elections. Photo: Reuters
Lawrence Chungin Taipei
Taiwan’s perennial presidential candidate James Soong Chu-yu is considering a 2020 run for the island’s top post, in what would be his fourth attempt since his candidacy split the mainland-friendly vote and paved the way for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s first electoral success 20 years earlier.
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The development followed the withdrawal from the January race of another stalwart of Taiwan politics, former vice-president and DPP co-founder Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, who accused her old party of creating unfair and illicit obstacles to her candidacy.

Analysts said while 75-year-old Lu wanted to run because of frustration over what she saw as the demoralisation of the DPP under current President Tsai Ing-wen, Soong was motivated by a fight for the political survival of his People First Party (PFP) in a system dominated by the DPP and its main opposition, the mainland-friendly Kuomintang (KMT).

The PFP’s organisation affairs director Chang Sho-wen revealed on Monday that party chairman Soong, 77, was likely to announce his presidential bid before the deadline for qualified political parties to register their candidates for nomination on November 22.

Former Taiwan vice-president Annette Lu Hsiu-lien has withdrawn from the 2020 presidential race, accusing her former party the DPP of creating obstacles to her candidacy. Photo: CNA
Former Taiwan vice-president Annette Lu Hsiu-lien has withdrawn from the 2020 presidential race, accusing her former party the DPP of creating obstacles to her candidacy. Photo: CNA
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“The chairman is seeking advice from other political bigwigs and there is an 80 per cent possibility of him running,” Chang said, adding that the party’s executive committee had been unanimously behind a Soong candidacy at its October 28 meeting.

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