Ex-Taiwan premier looks set to run for president

TAIPEI, May 6 (Reuters) Former Taiwan Premier Frank Hsieh looks set to be the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate in the race for the presidency in 2008 after winning the first phase of the party's primary today.

The current Taiwan premier, Su Tseng-chang, who had been tipped to win the primary, announced he was dropping out of the race, meaning that Hsieh would be a near certainty to represent the party in the vote, political observers said.

The DPP candidate will stand against the main opposition Kuomintang's (KMT's) Ma Ying-jeou, widely seen as the frontrunner.

The KMT, or the Nationalist Party, is viewed as more friendly towards China, while the DPP, which has ruled Taiwan since 2000, is independence-leaning.

The presidency is the most powerful position in Taiwan and decides the tone of overall policy towards China.

China views Taiwan as a renegade province, which Beijing says must be reunified with the mainland by force if needed. Beijing has thus refused to deal with the DPP.

''The vote reflects DPP members' confidence in me,'' Hsieh said after initial results showed that he was leading the race. ''I hope we will unite together after the vote and embrace DPP's values.'' Hsieh obtained 45 per cent of the vote, while Su took about 33 per cent, according to final figures from the DPP.

''For party unity and a future victory for the party and for Taiwan, Tseng-chang at this time has decided to withdraw from this primary and I will fully support the victor in this primary,'' Su said, speaking at a televised news conference.

Despite Su's announcement, the DPP said in a statement that the primary would continue with opinion polls in the coming days for the second phase of the contest, after party members voted on Sunday for their preferred candidate.

The result of the vote accounts for 30 per cent of any candidate's final score, while the remaining 70 per cent will be determined by the public opinion polls.

DPP is due to announce on May 12 who will be its candidate.

The other two candidates who contested in Sunday's primary were DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun and Vice President Annette Lu.

Reuters SM DB2224