Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan’s president, selected a popular former party chief to become premier on Thursday, a move that could shore up the president’s flagging support and enable him to adopt a tougher stance on cross-Strait relations with China.

Su Tseng-chang, who resigned as chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party in December after his party was defeated in a local government election, is a former human rights lawyer. He is one of his party’s most charismatic politicians and is seen as a likely DPP presidential candidate in 2008.