New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu said Friday that he will run for the chairmanship of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) but will not compete in the 2016 presidential race.
The KMT is scheduled to hold a vote on January 17 to elect a new chairman to replace President Ma Ying-jeou. Ma resigned as head of the party following its crushing defeat in recent local government elections.
In the elections, which were held last month, Chu was the only KMT candidate to win a mayoral seat in any of Taiwan's six major cities and counties. He is considered to be one of the most likely KMT presidential candidates for 2016.
But Chu said that he will serve his full term as mayor and will not run for president in 2016. He said the KMT may lose an election but must not lose a whole generation. Chu said the KMT should rebuild its core values in order to win back people’s trust. He said that as a KMT member, he cannot stand by after a major electoral defeat. He said that he hopes to help the party to get back on its feet.