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.