PFP Chairman James Soong said 10 of the party’s 12 candidates will join the KMT, which will then nominate them for the January elections.

“The PFP (candidates) agree to run under the KMT banner, not just to win the elections but more importantly to win the hearts of the people and hope for Taiwan,” said Soong in a joint-press conference with Wu Poh hsiung, his counterpart from the main opposition party.

Six of the 10 PFP candidates will be running in the electoral district race, while the other four will be named for at-large seats.

Soong said the PFP’s two hopefuls in the aboriginal category will continue to run as its candidates.

The PFP looked promising in the first few years after it was formed by Soong and fellow KMT mavericks in 2000. But the PFP has suffered heavy setbacks in recent elections, prompting opposition supporters to call for reunification of the two.

The upcoming elections, which will adopt a new format to the advantage of bigger parties, mean a critical moment for the survival of the PFP.

Although it will only have minimal representation in the elections, Soong yesterday insisted the PFP will continue to serve as an independent party.

He said a merger with the KMT would not be considered for the time being, in order to avoid seven incumbent PFP legislators-at-large losing their seats.

But a KMT-PFP merger could be discussed after the Jan. 12 legislative elections, he added.

Wu also said the two parties will act to strengthen mutual relations, but have no plans to enter into merger talks for the time being.

The most important task at present is to win the presidential and legislative elections in 2008, Wu added.

Wu said the two parties must work closely to fight for Taiwan’s survival and the well-being of its people. “This is the common wish of the KMT and PFP,” Wu stressed.

The four PFP candidates to be listed on the KMT’s legislators-at-large roster are Legislators Cheng Chin-ling, Chang Hsien-yao and Mei Chang-chi, as well as accountant Lo Shu-lei.

They will be listed on the roster in the sixth, ninth, 14th and 30th spots. Observers said the first three stand a good chance of being elected.

The six PFP candidates to represent the KMT in electoral seat elections are all incumbent legislators: Daniel Hwang, Wu Ching-chi, Chung Shao-ho, Fu Kun-chi, Lee Hong-chun, and Ko Shu-min.

But the inclusion of PFP candidates in its legislator-at-large roster sparked protest from at least one KMT legislator — Shen Chi-hui.

Shen, who was disappointed by her exclusion from the roster, said the nomination was unfair.

She said she is now determined to run for an electroal district seat.

The two parties have been working to field a single candidate in constituencies around the country in order avoid splitting the “pan-blue alliance” vote and to win as many seats as possible in the Jan. 12 legislative elections.

The next Legislature will only have 113 seats, compared to the present 225 seats.

Under the “single-seat constituency, two-vote” system, only one legislator will be elected in each of the nation’s 73 electoral districts.

The remaining seats in the next Legislature will be filled by six aboriginal representatives and 34 at-large legislators.

Also under the new system, legislators will serve four-year terms, instead of three-year terms as under the current system.

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