In preparation for the day it returns to power, the KMT plans to launch a series of training classes to nurture party talent that will be ready to take up government posts in the new regime, a party official said yesterday.
"These classes seek to nurture politically adept officials for roles in the KMT administration in the event the party wins the presidential election next year and stages a second transfer of power," said Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), director of the party's Organization and Development Affairs Committee.
The DPP ended the KMT's decades-long rule in Taiwan when Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) won the presidential election in 2000.
Determined to take back power, the KMT joined forces with the PFP and announced in April that KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and his PFP counterpart James Soong (宋楚瑜) would run on a joint ticket for next year's presidential election
Saying that these training classes were launched by order of Lien, Ting said the target group for these is those individuals between 30 and 40 years old.
"Chairman Lien expects that these individuals, after being nurtured by these training classes, would bring new blood into the party and be in good shape and prepared to take up various governmental posts 10 years down the road in the KMT administration," said Ting.
Registration for the classes is currently underway and the first sessions will take place next month.
"These classes hope not to only attract talent from the public sector but also professionals from the academic and economic arenas," Ting said.
Expressing her expectation that elite members of society would be eager to join these training classes, Ting said the curriculum would include courses subjects such as politics, the legislative process, relations between ruling and opposition parties and propaganda.
Ting added that lecturers will include KMT heavyweights such as Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and various former government officials.
Although the purpose and operation of these classes sound much like the DPP's Ketagalan Academy and former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) Lee Teng-hui School, Ting argued that the KMT is not being a copycat.
"The idea of holding training classes is nothing new to the KMT," said Ting. "The KMT has been hosting similar training sessions for ages. The only difference this time around is that, these classes are focusing on training young talents specifically in preparation to serve in government posts once the KMT returns to power."
Not everyone thinks the classes are a good idea, given the growing number of schools or training classes sponsored by political parties.
Chiu Hei-yuan (瞿海源). a sociology professor at National Taiwan University, however, expressed doubt as to how effective these venues would be in nurturing talents to take on government posts.
"Given the strong political tinge each institution seems to have with its affiliation with certain particular political party, I highly doubt the effectiveness of these schools or classes in training new talents for government posts," Chiu said.
He added that these classes seem to be turning into venues where participants accumulate their personal "political capital" through interaction with fellow classmates who are themselves already influential in their respective professional fields.
"I think that the point that needs to be considered by all these institutions is that talented people are supposed to be trained for doing service to the country -- and not to the party," Chiu said.
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