Mr Lien was making his first comments on the controversial re-election issue since his triumphant return from a historic visit to the mainland, where he held talks with Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao .

The re-election issue has been widely discussed since Mr Lien failed to win the presidency last year, although the KMT managed to hold on to its legislative majority in elections last December.

Opinion is divided over whether Mr Lien should stay on as KMT chairman, with one side saying he should step down to make way for younger members, such as Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou and legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng - both KMT vice-chairmen.

But others, including some KMT stalwarts, say it is still too early for the 68-year-old Mr Lien to leave because Mr Ma and Mr Wang are too young and a number of members would not listen to them.

Mr Lien said earlier this year that as head of a party that was becoming more democratic, it was necessary for him to step down to make way for a younger generation.

After the comments, Mr Ma and Mr Wang declared their intentions to run for the chairmanship.

But the success of Mr Lien's mainland visit has boosted the KMT chairman's popularity, prompting supporters to urge him to stay on as party leader.

Yesterday, more than 1,000 supporters from various parts of the island rallied at the KMT's headquarters in Taipei, asking to see Mr Lien so they could persuade him to run for re-election.

'He is the most suitable leader of the KMT and we want him to continue to be the chairman,' they shouted. But Mr Lien was not at party headquarters.

Latest opinion polls show his popularity has surged to 44 per cent, an impressive rise from only 31 per cent in September.

The historic meeting between Mr Lien and Mr Hu in Beijing last Friday marked the first time that the leaders of the KMT and the Communist Party had talked face to face since 1949, when the KMT fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war.

While his eight-day trip and meeting with Mr Hu bore a great deal of historical significance, Mr Lien also returned with political and economic sweeteners.

They were agreements from the mainland on the possibility of setting up a cross-strait peace framework, a zero-tariff regime for a number of Taiwanese fruit imports and permission for mainland tourists to visit Taiwan.

The mainland also expressed its willingness to send a pair of pandas to Taiwan.

Chang Ling-cheng, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University, said Mr Lien should bow out gracefully instead of staying on to be criticised for being undemocratic.

'After all, he has left a legacy for the party and his name in history,' she said.