Taipei Mayor Forms New Political Party

The mayor of Taipei, Ko Wen-je, has announced the formation of a new political party, fuelling speculation he may run in Taiwan's presidential election in January.

Ko on Thursday stopped short of confirming or denying a presidential bid.

He would only say if he fails to sign up as a candidate by the September 17 deadline, that means he's not running. Ko also said he didn't like to see local officials who serve only briefly to run for president.

The new party, known as the Taiwanese People’s Party, will be officially launched on Tuesday, on Ko's 60th birthday.

He said the priority is to win seats in the legislative yuan.

Ko also said he wanted to try to map out Taiwan's future beyond the island's dominant blue-green political landscape.

President Tsai Ing-wen is the ruling Democratic Progressive Party candidate in the presidential election, representing the green camp which is critical of Beijing.

She faces the challenge of Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) of the blue camp, which favours warmer cross-strait ties.

Besides Ko, Foxconn founder Terry Gou, who was beaten by Han in the KMT primary, may run as a third-party candidate.