Frank Hsieh wins DPP primaries

Former premier Frank Hsieh won the Democratic Progress Party primaries yesterday to clinch the right to run for president in March next year.

He won 62,849 of the 140,720 valid votes cast across the nation.

There are over 254,000 DPP members. The turnout was 56.06 percent.

Premier Su Tseng-chang, the runner-up with 46,994 votes, conceded defeat. He announced his withdrawal from the race.

Another hopeful, DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun, was behind Su with 22,211. He virtually conceded by saying he has decided to stop campaigning.

An in-house poll will follow the primaries.

According to DPP by-laws, the outcome of the primaries accounts for only 30 percent of the total score needed to win the nomination.

The other 70 percent will be supplied by the straw poll scheduled for May 9-11.

Trong Chai, acting chairman of the ruling party, insists that the straw poll be held according to schedule. "The selection of the nominee has to run its full course," he said.

Vice President Annette Lu, who trailed far behind with a mere 8,666 votes, didn't concede. She said she still has a chance to reverse the tide in the three-day poll.

President Chen Shui-bian congratulated Hsieh for the primary victory, which all but decided who heads the DPP ticket for 2008.

"The president talked to the former premier briefly, for a few minutes," his spokesman said.

Hsieh also talked with his defeated rivals, calling for their support in the 2008 election. Hsieh met Yu at the latter's office, but it was not known whether they talked about the selection of a running mate.

Asked if he will be on Hsieh's ticket, Yu said it's totally up to the standard bearer to choose his running mate "But," he added, "I wish to give that chance to others." Su promised support. "I'll do what I can to help the winner of the primaries win in next March," the premier said in expressing his strong resolve to attain a unity of purpose within the ruling party.

However, Hsieh has yet to officially pick his deputy.

The ruling party is expected to make known the outcome of the poll on May 22. The nomination will be announced at the end of this month.

Indications are that Yeh Chu-lan, a Hakka former acting mayor of Kaohsiung, is likely to be Hsieh's running mate. "She has helped me a great deal (in the primaries)," Hsieh said.

In fact, Yeh strongly endorsed Hsieh when he needed it most. She has the support of Hakka, a minority accounting for 15 percent of Taiwan's population. Hsieh is a Hoklo.

Amoy-speaking Hoklo form the majority of the people in Taiwan. They make up an estimated 70 percent.

Without strong Hakka support, Hsieh is unlikely to win in 2008.

Hsieh said in a victory speech the governing party takes its first step toward unity right after the divisive primaries.

"My most urgent task is to heal all the wounds inflicted on the party by the primaries so that all of us will stand united," Hsieh said.

Not touching on the choice of the running mate, the former premier said, "There is no one with whom I cannot work together."

That may mean Hsieh wants to ask Su to run for vice president.

With his candidacy voted for, Hsieh will meet former Kuomintang chairman Ma Ying-jeou, come next March.

Ma was confirmed as the Kuomintang candidate for president on last Wednesday.

Though he is standing trial for corruption, Ma is enjoying a large lead over Hsieh in poll after popularity poll. The Kuomintang nominee was charged with misusing his expense account while he was mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006.

It won't easy for Hsieh to narrow the gap, but if Ma is convicted, the DPP candidate will have a much better chance. Ma may be forced to withdraw from the race.

As a matter of fact, the ruling party is trying to ram a bill through the Legislative Yuan to disqualify Ma if he is convicted at the first trial.