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KMT councilors ask for younger representation

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should open the door to the younger generation for nominations for December's legislative election instead of allowing just the incumbent legislators to run, a group of up-and-coming KMT city and county councilors said yesterday.

About a dozen city and county councilors, led by Taitung County Council Speaker Wu Chun-li (吳俊立), visited KMT deputy chairman and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) at the Legislative Yuan yesterday morning to talk about party reform and the legislative election.

Some of the visiting councilors are prepared to run in the legislative election but their nominations are uncertain, as the KMT is already facing the threat of losing several seats in the upcoming election.

"The legislative election is a major event and young people with passion and ideals should be allowed to run in the election. Although the old tree trunk needs to stay evergreen, there should be space for new branches to develop," Pingtung County Councilor Yeh Shou-shan (葉壽山) said.

"It is acceptable that the incumbent legislators are allowed to run for reelection, but the young people should also be given a chance," Yeh said.

"If we make conservative nominations, voters will respond conservatively in the legislative election. The young people have spoken and the party should refrain from stigmatizing the young," Hsinchu City Councilor Cheng Chen-chien (鄭正鈐) said.

Meanwhile, Wang said that the major consideration for nomination for the legislative election would be the candidate's potential to win the election.

"After all, the legislative election is not just for practice or rehearsal," Wang said.

Wang also said that if there was competition between the incumbent legislators and the newcomers, the party would try to resolve it via negotiation. The party would also suggest that incumbent legislators who were not confident of reelection should withdraw from the race.

Later, KMT Deputy Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and KMT veteran Legislator Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) joined them for lunch.

While Ma only made a short stop as a polite gesture to the visitors, Wu talked about the peaceful coexistence of the old and the young in the party.

"Despite all the faults that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) may have, it is good at training and relying on its younger members, and that's what the KMT should learn from the DPP," Wu said.
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