Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that she already has a list of potential running mates to consider ahead of a November deadline.
“We already have a list of people to consider and I am pondering the issue,” Tsai told reporters during a campaign event in Taipei.
“It is not time to make a final decision yet, but I will have to decide before the deadline for [candidate] registration,” she said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The registration period for presidential candidates runs from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27, according to the Central Election Commission.
Tsai declined to comment on speculation over who was on the list, saying that rumors might cause trouble for those named.
Asked if she would announce her running mate before September, Tsai said it would depend on how the situation develops.
Tsai announced her running mate for the 2012 presidential election in September 2011.
In other developments, Tsai rebutted criticism from Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Taipei City Councilor Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘), who said that the DPP treated the TSU as a “follower” instead of a friend during negotiations over legislative candidates.
Chen said earlier in the week that, while dealing with other political parties, the DPP simply yields, but with the TSU, the DPP always makes a decision through opinion polls.
“Who said that?” Tsai asked. “The DPP holds the same attitude toward all [political allies], whether it is the TSU or others.”
“The idea is: When we can negotiate for a common candidate, we negotiate. If we can not, we make the decision through opinion polls,” she added.
The DPP has announced it will not nominate legislative candidates for several constituencies where the New Power Party, the Social Democratic Party, the TSU, and the People First Party have made nominations.
However, Chen’s daughter, Chen Hsi-yu (陳思宇), is to compete with DPP Taipei City Councilor Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) in a poll over the nomination for the legislative seat representing Taipei’s Shilin (士林) and Beitou (北投) districts.
Wu said that Chen Chien-ming’s criticism was unfair to Tsai, because the DPP wanted her to run because it believes she has a better chance of winning than another candidate.
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