The newly formed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth Corps yesterday began the registration process to elect its leader and called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to "follow its example."
"We hope that DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun will also establish a youth corps and choose its leader through a nationwide election in order to improve the political situation in Taiwan and the DPP's relationship with the KMT," said spokesman Lu Chi-chiang (
Earlier yesterday morning, during the press conference to announce the party's youth corps leadership election, corps members shouted "Youth rules!" and pledged to strive for greater roles for youth in the political world.
"Young people were treated like vassals with no real power in political parties. Now the KMT has given us the stage and our direct involvement in the decision-making process will revolutionize politics," said the corps' election committee chief Chang Si-gang (
The formation of the KMT Youth Corps, which will be formally established in March, was one of KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou's (
While the corps is intended to attract youthful talent, it has been dubbed by the media as a "clique of princes," with senior members including former KMT chairman Lien Chan's (
Many expected that Lien Sheng-wen, who is seen as a promising star already in the party, would be the corps' leader, but he declined to enter the election.
In addition to KMT Legislator Justin Chou (
"I join the race not for my personal power and fame, but to unite the party's young people. The KMT failed to take the youth seriously in the past and I can't absent myself from this important election," Chou said yesterday when registering.
The election registration process runs until Feb. 7. Voters will be able to make their choice by mail, telephone and online. The result will be announced on March 29.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS