After the Democratic Progressive Party won landslide victories in the presidential and legislative elections, many attributed the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) crushing defeat to its disconnection from younger voters. For example, on the KMT’s controversial list of legislator-at-large nominees, the "youngest" of the first 15 candidates who stood the best chance of being elected was 50.
As the party pushed voters in their 20s, 30s and 40s away, its election defeat was not at all surprising.
During the campaign, the KMT repeatedly lost points on issues that young people are concerned about. Take the issue of same-sex marriage: In recent years, opinion polls at home and abroad have indicated that young people are supportive of the LGBT community and marriage equality.
In the US, a Gallup poll last year showed that as many as 83 percent of people aged 18 to 29 and 68 percent of people aged 30 to 49 supported same-sex marriage. These figures were higher than the national average of 63 percent.
This trend actually reveals that for many voters under the age of 50, who enjoy greater access to information and might be more liberal than older voters, the LGBT issue is no longer seen as a taboo, but rather as a human rights concern.
Unfortunately, the KMT was unaware of this shift in opinion during the same-sex marriage legislation process and campaign, when it was stressing that homosexuality would promote anal intercourse and eventually cause human extinction.
Many KMT legislative candidates even signed a “letter of commitment” proposed by an anti-LGBT group, pledging to abolish or amend the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第748號解釋施行法) on same-sex marriage. As they showed no respect for the constitutional interpretation, it is no wonder a number of voters were scared away.
As for the KMT’s presidential candidate, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), and his running mate, former premier Simon Chang (張善政), their claim that they “respect but do not encourage” homosexuality is simply illogical. What kind of respect is that if you refuse to grant LGBT people basic rights?
After the elections, some pro-LGBT groups said that 32 of the 41 pro-LGBT legislative candidates seeking re-election kept their seats. In comparison, the anti-LGBT Stabilizing Force Party (安定力量) received just 94,563 party votes — 0.67 percent — and none of its legislative candidates were elected. Can the KMT leadership not see who the “box office bombs” are?
About 1.18 million people aged 20 to 23 were eligible to vote for the first time in the presidential and legislative elections, Central Election Commission data showed. As number of young voters continues to grow, support for issues such as same-sex marriage will inevitably rise.
If the blue camp insists on attracting votes from conservatives by triggering their fear or dislike of homosexuality through various discriminatory remarks, it is likely to further widen the generation gap, while forcing more young voters to join the green camp.
Meanwhile, the blue camp supporters need to realize that Han’s slogan of “love and tolerance” should not be lip service. After all, social integration and cultural diversity are precious values on this land, and there should be no distinction between the blue and green camps in terms of protecting minority groups’ basic rights.
Hopefully, all parties will adjust and work together to build a fairer and better Taiwan, so that young Taiwanese can take pride in their nation.
Eddy Chang is an assistant professor at National Taipei University of Business.
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