On June 22, the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation released the results of its latest poll on political party approval ratings, which showed that support for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was 28.2 percent, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) support was 16.2 percent, and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and New Power Party (NPP) had 10.7 and 10.6 percent support, respectively.
Surprisingly, the KMT received no support from people aged 20 to 24, while support from that group for the DPP, TPP and NPP was 31.4, 19.7 and 18.3 percent, respectively.
On the same day, the National Policy Foundation, a KMT think tank, released the results of its latest poll on political party approval ratings, showing that 32.9 percent of respondents said they support the DPP, 13.7 percent support the KMT, and 6.6 and 5.9 percent support the TPP and NPP, respectively.
A cross-analysis of the polls shows that 37 percent of people aged 20 to 29 support the DPP, while support for the KMT among the same group is a mere 6.3 percent.
The results of the polls bring to mind a comment by Taipei City Councilor Chen Ping-fu (陳炳甫), who also serves as a KMT Central Standing Committee member. In an interview with the China Review News Agency, Chen said that young people do not support the KMT because of amendments to the curriculum guidelines made during Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) presidency, which resulted in senior-high school students receiving a more Taiwan-focused education.
Those students are now in their mid-30s, and they have no positive feelings toward the KMT. Chen Ping-fu even speculated that the party’s support among those around the age of 20 could be less than 3 percent.
“Taiwan awareness” has grown gradually since 1996, when the nation drew a clear line between itself and the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party regime, and held its first direct presidential election. The focus on Taiwan awareness in schools, beginning during Chen Shui-bian’s presidency, has improved students’ independent thinking and self-awareness.
The 2013 protests against the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement with China, the Sunflower movement in 2014 and opposition to the old curriculum guidelines are concrete examples of students’ concerns about their future.
Since Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) in March took over the KMT chairmanship, he has worked hard to boost the KMT’s morale without much success. Apart from ascribing a functional and transitional role to the so-called “1992 consensus,” he has failed to propose a powerful and convincing discourse, and the party finds itself in a difficult situation, not knowing what to do next.
As Chen Ping-fu bluntly pointed out, the “1992 consensus” has fulfilled its transitional mission, and the latest election results have proven that most Taiwanese do not recognize the term, so it is time for the KMT to review its cross-strait policy.
A new discourse to replace the “1992 consensus” should not be based on Chiang’s personal opinion alone. The KMT should draw on wisdom from within and outside the party to come up with a core value that can be recognized by the public at large. It should then write it into its party platform to highlight the visionary significance of such a value.
At a time when the KMT’s pro-China stance might raise public doubt, it would make things worse if it failed to clarify its position to dispel those doubts.
Chang Huey-por is a former president of National Changhua University of Education.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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