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
The US Department of Defense recently released this year’s “Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.” This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of China’s military capabilities, strategic objectives and evolving global ambitions. Taiwan features prominently in this year’s report, as capturing the nation remains central to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) vision of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” a goal he has set for 2049. The report underscores Taiwan’s critical role in China’s long-term strategy, highlighting its significance as a geopolitical flashpoint and a key target in China’s quest to assert dominance
The National Development Council (NDC) on Wednesday last week launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported on Monday. The new visa is for foreign nationals from Taiwan’s list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts, but it is not clear how it differs from other visitor visas for nationals of those countries, CNA wrote. The NDC last year said that it hoped to attract 100,000 “digital nomads,” according to the report. Interest in working remotely from abroad has significantly increased in recent years following improvements in
The Legislative Yuan passed legislation on Tuesday aimed at supporting the middle-aged generation — defined as people aged 55 or older willing and able to work — in a law initially proposed by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Wu Chun-cheng (吳春城) to help the nation transition from an aged society to a super-aged society. The law’s passage was celebrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the TPP. The brief show of unity was welcome news, especially after 10 months of political fighting and unconstitutional amendments that are damaging democracy and the constitutional order, eliciting concern
Following a series of suspected sabotage attacks by Chinese vessels on undersea cables in the Baltic Sea last year, which impacted Europe’s communications and energy infrastructure, an international undersea cable off the coast of Yehliu (野柳) near Keelung was on Friday last week cut by a Chinese freighter. Four cores of the international submarine communication cable connecting Taiwan and the US were damaged. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) dispatched a ship to the site after receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom and located the Shunxin-39, a Cameroon-flagged cargo ship operated by a Hong Kong-registered company and owned by a Chinese
RSS