Soong Artfully Moves

Public Art in Nantou on Rte 3 just north of Mingjian.

The wily James Soong, head of the People First Party (PFP), a spin-off of the KMT, is keeping himself in the news for the next few weeks during the run-up for the election with a clever PR move:

In an interview with ERA TV last night, Soong said he would pick up the petition form at the commission between Sept. 16 and Sept. 20 and start collecting signatures from supporters on Sept. 22. However, he refused to confirm whether this would be an indication that he was “determined” to run for president.

The number of signatures required to qualify for registration as a presidential candidate is 250,000. Soong, 69, said he would not join the election unless he collects at least 1 million signatures.

This way the "signature drive" will keep him in the news and in front of the public while he assesses his chances and maneuvers for leverage against his chief rival, the KMT itself. He may or may not actually enter the Presidential race, but either way, a smart move. Note that he only has to hand over 250,000 signatures to the CEC in order to qualify for the race, meaning that he could collect a pile of signatures, hand in 250K, and tell everyone he got a million.
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