Legislature President Wang Jin-pyng said Sunday that if the ruling party – the Kuomintang (KMT) – enlists him to run for president, he will oblige.
Wang was responding to a question at Fo Guang Shan monastery in southern Taiwan. He was there for the founding of an association for traditional Chinese religions, an organization that he has been selected to head.
Right now only one person has registered to run in the KMT’s presidential primary. That’s Legislature Vice President Hung Hsiu-chu. Hung will have to get at least 30% support in two opinion polls, scheduled for June 12-13, in order to become the party’s candidate in 2016.
Wang was originally thought to be a likely candidate, but he said in mid-May that he would not seek his party’s nomination.
When asked on Sunday whether he would stay on at the legislature or run for president, Wang said he would respect his party’s decision.
Meanwhile, Hung responded on Sunday to Wang’s comments, saying that it was good to see that others are willing to shoulder the responsibility and run for president. But she said the primary must first go ahead as scheduled.