Tsai to run for Xinbei mayor

Tsai made the decision after days of consideration and following repeated urging from other party leaders.

The party also announced that DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan will run in the Taichung City election.

In her brief statement, she thanked her supporters and said her reelection proves that “reform is not a lonely road.”

Tsai was first elected as the 12th DPP chairman in 2008 after the DPP suffered a heavy loss in the presidential election.

Incumbent Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu, former Premier Su Tseng-chang and Legislator William Lai are the DPP candidates for Kaohsiung, Taipei, and Tainan, respectively, in the Nov. 27 municipality elections.

DPP spokesman Tsai Chi-chang said the list is expected to be approved at a Central Executive Committee meeting tomorrow.

Tsai said earlier yesterday that she would not reveal her decision whether to run for the Xinbei election without consulting the timetable the party has made on the mayoral elections. She promised that she would explain to the public the reason behind her decision.

“I have made this clear already. Party leadership is my most important job,”she said.“All my decisions would be based on how to best function as the DPP chairwoman.”

The result of the DPP chairperson election was clear long before the final tally was known. Tsai won more than 78,000 votes with over 90 percent of ballots cast, far more than the 8.9 percent captured by You, a former Taipei County magistrate and her sole rival in the election.

You conceded defeat in the early evening. He attributed his less-than-expected performance to vote equalization and attack from the different political fractions in the DPP.

You had also expressed his reservation at Tsai's possible candidacy in the Xinbei race, saying that she is after all only one person and it would be hard for her to help rally other candidates in the year-end mayoral elections as the party leader while running for Xinbei mayor at the same time.

Su also told reporters earlier yesterday that he would accept whatever decision the party makes concerning the mayoral elections. If the party drafts him to run for Taichung City, he would do it without any hesitation. His candidacy for Taichung was announced later in the day by the DPP.

Su made his comment while attending the funeral of former Taichung Mayor Chang Tzu-yuen. Jason Hu, the incumbent Taichung Mayor, also attended the ceremony.

Yesterday also saw the election of the head of the DPP's city and county branches. Incumbent Taipei City chapter chief Huang Ching-lin, a well-known supporter of former President Chen Shui-bian, was defeated by DPP Taipei City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung.

Huang explained that his defeat has nothing to do with his support of Chen but mainly due to the onslaught by supporters of Frank Hsieh, a former premier, and the New Tide fraction

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