Taiwan incumbent leader Ma Ying-jeou on Thursday officially declared his plans to seek a second four-year term by requesting an application form for Kuomintang's (KMT) intra-party candidate competition for next year's election.

On behalf of Ma, who is also the KMT's Chairman, nine youth representatives claimed Ma's application form and paid a two-million New Taiwan Dollar check for election deposit at the KMT's headquarters.

The nine young representatives chanted Ma's re-election slogans, saying that Ma should be re-elected because he seeks peaceful, win-win relations across the Taiwan Strait and harmonious relations among Taiwan's different ethnic groups.

The KMT headquarters started its intra-Party procedure for the nomination to the 2012 Taiwan leadership election at the end of last month, and will receive candidates' applications on Thursday and Friday.

If only Ma Ying-jeou enters the KMT's intra-Party competition, Ma will officially become the KMT's nomination for the 2012 Taiwan leader election on May 4.

Ma Ying-jeou took office for his first four-year term in May 2008 by beating Frank Hsieh Chang-ting of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in that year's Taiwan leadership election, which also allowed the KMT to regain power in Taiwan after the DPP's eight-year administration under Chen Shui-bian.