Taiwan's People First Party chairman James Soong announced Saturday that he
will retire from politics as from the same day, Taiwan media reported.
James Soong announced his political retirement Saturday evening after he fell
far behind in votes of Hau Lung-bin, the candidate from the Kuomintang Party
(KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party candidate Frank Hsieh in the mayoral
election in Taipei.
Soong said he will accept Taipei people's choice and retire from politics as
from Saturday.
Votes for mayors opened on Saturday in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan's two
major cities. Soong was among the six candidates competing for mayor of Taipei.
Although his votes ranked third, Soong fell far behind of Hau and Hsieh. He
conceded defeat before the last vote results.
Soong said that he had wanted to provide good service to Taipei people but
the result was disappointing. He said he would respect the result and accept
Taipei people's choice, Taiwan media reported.
Deputies of the PFP said that they support Soong and would not accept his
political retirement. They would try all they could to stop Soong from retiring.
Hau Lung-bin from KMT declared victory of the election for mayor of Taipei
Saturday evening.