A Serious Contender?

* It's almost a foregone conclusion that former Taiwan Provincial Governor and chairman of the People First Party (PFP), James C.Y. Soong, will join the fray and make a fourth bid, which should be the last, at the presidency next January 11. Since the PFP secured more than 5%of the party identification vote in the 2016 legislative election, it is entitled to nominate a presidential ticket without going through the write-in process. In the next two weeks, the PFP will make Soong's candidacy public and official.

* As the only elected provincial governor of Taiwan, Soong was an extremely popular politician who once enjoyed an on-the-job approval rating of over 90% in 1997-98. With the "freezing" of the Taiwan Province, Soong broke off with the KMT and launch an independent presidential campaign in 2000. He came close of winning it all, but ended up losing the DPP's Chen Shui-bian by less than 3% of the popular vote. Soon subsequently founded the PFP and has remained its chairman for the last twenty years.

* Undoubtedly Soong is a seasoned politician who is extremely well-versed with Taiwan's internal and external affairs. Two factors that go against his candidacy are: (1) his age (Soong is 77 this year), and (2) his political credibility. While there is a sizeable portion of pan-Blue supporters who would not support KMT's Han Kuo-yu, Soong needs to convince the electorate that he is "electable," and he has the experience and a capable team to get the job done. It won't be easy and the time is running short. Besides his own presidential aspirations, how Soong performs at the polls next January 11 will have a bigger impact on the future of PFP.