Legislature Vice President Hung Hsiu-chu on Sunday registered to run in the ruling party’s presidential primary. Hung is seeking the nomination of the Kuomintang (KMT) to run for president in the 2016 elections.
Supporters were on hand as Hung visited the party headquarters in Taipei and paid the NT$7 million (US$230,115) processing fee. She also submitted a petition signed by 63,377 party members, which was well over the party's minimum requirement of 15,000 signatures.
Hung said she had come forward with a humble heart to fulfill her commitment to her supporters. She said she will work to shoulder greater responsibility for her party and the nation.
So far, no one who is considered a KMT heavyweight has signed up to run in the party’s presidential primary. Another party member who showed up to collect the registration form before the deadline on Saturday was former Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang.
When asked whether she was concerned that the KMT would abort the presidential primary and draft a candidate instead, Hung said that depends on whether she is "good enough." She said that she believed that she could represent the KMT in the race.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu, has said that he will not compete in the 2016 presidential election. That’s despite being seen by some as the party’s best option to face off against the opposition Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) chairwoman and candidate Tsai Ing-wen.