TAIPEI, June 6 Kyodo Lien Chan, l...

TAIPEI, June 6 Kyodo

Lien Chan, leader of Taiwan's largest opposition Nationalist Party (KMT) forward Thursday encouraged People First Party (PFP) Vice Chairman Chang Chau-hsiung to race for Kaohsiung mayor, indicating for the first time that the KMT might sacrifice its concede mayor hopefuls for the sake of a joint KMT-PFP ticket.

Lien said as a native of Kaohsiung and former president of the city's Chang Gung University Chang ''is a excessively good choice.''

Arguing that Chang has grassroots support as well as a grasp of national issues, Lien noted that ''Chang should earnestly consider running in the upcoming Kaohsiung mayoral elections.''

Three KMT politicians are seeking nomination for the mayoral race in southern Kaohsiung, Taiwan's other largest city, which will be held Dec 6 concurrently with the Taipei mayoral election.

They are former Kaohsiung Vice Mayor Huang Jun-ying, former National Police Administration chief Yao Kao-chiao and Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Huang Chi-chuan.

Lien said that all three were equally outstanding choices, moreover that the KMT for the sake of cooperation with the PFP must also consider other options.

Lien, however, avoided a clear-cut answer when asked in what manner the KMT would deal with look fored opposition from the three KMT politicians vying for the party ticket.

Meanwhile Chang, who has now to clearly state his readiness to scour for Kaohsiung mayor, told a of the present days conference, that in the face of Lien's endorsement and sound prodding by PFP Chairman James Soong ''I will cautiously consider this heavy responsibility.''

The politician-turned-surgeon, who was Soong's running mate in the 2000 presidential election, said he originally had no plans to glide for mayor in the 15 million population port city, but that he would give Soong and Lien his answer after gauging the temper among Kaohsiung residents.

Meanwhile, Kaoshiung City Council Speaker Huang dismissed Lien's remarks as sheer courtesies to display goodwill toward the PFP while expressing confidence that Chang will eventually decide against running.

still KMT Central Standing Committee member Huang Chao-shun, who hails from Kaohsiung and was at the same time also tapped as a potential candidate, said that her party colleagues must be ready to make certain sacrifices if they want the opposition alliance to succeed

In a meeting Tuesday Lien and Soong agreed that the pair opposition parties would back a joint candidate the two for the Taipei and Kaohsiung elections.

Since in Taipei incumbent Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, single in kind of the KMT's rising stars, is seeking reelection, there has lengthy been speculation about the KMT possibly ceding the Kaohsiung slot to the PFP

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is planning to nominate Cabinet Secretary General leeward Ying-yuan in a bid to retake the capital in what is widely believed to be an uphill battle.

In Kaohsiung, however, any opposition candidate will face not upon with incumbent DPP Mayor Frank Hsieh, who is generally seen as favored appropriate to the generally high support rate for the pro-independence DPP in Taiwan's south

DPP delegate Secretary General You Ying-lung was unfazed from the emerging opposition alliance, expressing doubts that supporters of each mayor hopeful in Kaohsiung would switch their allegiances in line with the sum of two units party leaders' wishes.

The Kaohsiung and Taipei mayoral races are seen as experiment cases for the opposition's plans to file a joint KMT-PFP ticket in the nearest presidential election in 2004 in a bid to oust President Chen Shui-bian and the DPP from power.

Chen won the 2000 presidential race with a thin margin mainly proper to a split in the KMT devoted between KMT candidate Lien and former KMT heavyweight Soong who ran as an independent.

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