09/29/2011, 00.00
TAIWAN - CHINA
Send to a friend

Soong announces candidacy for 2012 presidential election, citing threats from Beijing

The founder of the People First Party confirms to want to run in the elections, scheduled for next Jan. 14, but Beijing accuses him of interfering in the election campaign. Campaign for the island’s next president heats up.
Taipei (AsiaNews) - The campaign for Taiwan's future president is heating up ahead of the vote next Jan. 14. James Soong, the founder of the People First Party, has announced his intention to run "to break the dominance of the two major parties," but has accused Beijing of "wanting to boycott him" to prevent the nationalist Ma - considered the Chinese government favourite – from loosing valuable votes.

The complaint, voiced again in an interview with newspaper Next, it is not without foundation: in fact in 2000 Soong left the Kuomintang - the Nationalist Party, considered close to the interests of mainland China - and divided the electorate. That move led to the first election of fiercely anti-Beijing Chen Shui-bian, Democratic Progressive Party candidate, who is also an advocate of political independence.

After Chen's two terms (which ended with a trial and an even more dubious conviction for corruption), power in Taipei passed into the hands of Ma Ying-jeou: The former mayor of the island opened up to new relationships up with the former mother country to sign a historic agreement for free trade. Beijing, however, still considers Taiwan a renegade province to be brought to heel.

For his part, Soong - 69, a former provincial governor - is "not hostile" to mainland China and added his desire to improve the ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait even further. But he considesr the island "more important than anything else" and says he wants to work "so that people can return to live with dignity and pride in their own political free and democratic system".

TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
A Catholic candidate for Taiwan who wants to be a small tool in God's hands
03/12/2015
Ramos-Horta loses E Timor presidential election, Guterres and Ruak in runoff
19/03/2012
First female candidate to run in Kuwait poll
13/02/2006
Christians, activists and politicians call on the government to find missing journalist
11/08/2010
Filipino Church and civil society for "good governance" and the fight against corruption
30/04/2009


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”