Ex-premier unveils Taipei mayoral bid

His announcement came a day after DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan said the party will respect the personal wishes of potential contenders in fielding its candidates for the December mayoral elections of the five special municipalities.

Su, a two-term magistrate of neighboring Taipei County, stopped short of making a straightforward announcement of his Taipei mayoral bid partly because opinions remain divided within DPP ranks about whether he should run in Taipei City or the upgraded Taipei County to be known as Xinbei City.

He has led many potential DPP contenders in public opinion polls in both races, but Su is also considered the leading candidate to represent the DPP in the 2012 presidential race, complicating his decision to run in the year-end elections.

Su pledged that once he is nominated for the Taipei City race, he will campaign to win, and if he is elected, he will definitely serve out his term and will not participate in the 2012 presidential election.

Addressing a group of his supporters in front of the Boan Temple, one of Taipei's major tourist attractions, Su said he personally has a strong affection for Taipei County.

"But any politician can only be re-elected once to the top post of the same local government under our regulations. This is also the ceiling prevalent in democratic countries," Su said at the rally.

Citing U.S. history, Su said, President George Washington had the potential to win a third term, but he resisted that temptation and retired after his second term expired.

"Washington set a good model that is the gist of democracy, " he added.

While he still holds a strong feeling for Taipei County, Su said he was unlikely to run for its top post for a third time.

"If one day I am more capable, I will make greater contributions to the county to return its residents' generous support for me, " Su said in a veiled reference to his presidential ambition.

Touching on his bid for Taipei mayoral race, Su said the city has been plagued by a host of problems after being under the Kuomintang's rule for 12 years.

"If Taipei residents yearn for a change, the DPP has an obligation and should have the guts to field a competent candidate to offer them a different choice," Su said.

With this in mind, Su said he will be willing to take up the challenge if the DPP needs him to serve as its standardbearer in the tough Taipei mayoral race.

"But as a DPP member, I will fully respect our party's decision.

I will follow the party's mechanism in fulfilling the mission, " Su said.

The city is generally considered a stronghold of the KMT, and no DPP mayoral candidate has ever won more than 50 percent of the vote in a mayoral race.

The DPP's Chen Shui-bian was elected to the post in 1994 with 43.7 percent of the vote when two other candidates from the pan-KMT camp split the vote of their support base.

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