On the anniversary of the start of last year’s Sunflower movement, New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) pledged to develop policies to address youth employment and education, housing and tax reforms, adding that the party is listening to the views of young people.
“The KMT is reflecting [on its mistakes],” Chu said at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday.
The KMT is cognizant of its lopsided policy emphasizing economic growth and cross-strait relations at the expense of a fair distribution of wealth and intergenerational equality, he said, adding that the party is putting youth employment and higher salaries at the top of its agenda.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The KMT would collaborate with labor groups to achieve a fairer distribution of wealth and create more job opportunities and a friendlier environment for young entrepreneurs, he added.
The KMT would attach greater importance to housing and residential justice — issues that young people care greatly about, Chu said.
To facilitate the fairer distribution of wealth, the KMT legislative caucus and Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) would push for tax-reform legislation in this legislative plenary session, he said.
“[The KMT] especially aims to make rich people pay more taxes to make Taiwan a fairer society,” Chu said.
Chu said that many young graduates are doing jobs that have little to do with their qualifications, which suggested that the nation’s education system — especially in regards to vocational education — is inadequate.
To boost the nation’s competitiveness, the KMT wants to improve vocational education by hastening a fuller integration of vocational training with industry, with the party cooperating with the Ministry of Education in formulating relevant policies, he said.
Amid a surge of young candidates entering next year’s legislative elections, Chu said that it is commendable that young people care about politics and engage in social service, but added that it takes more than passion to come up with clear and constructive visions and put those policies into practice.
He said that both the nation and the party depend on young people, who are Taiwan’s future.
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