A group of young Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members yesterday announced the formation of the “Grassroots Alliance” (草協聯盟), which aims to transform the party via a “guerrilla reformative project” that aims to address issues such as intra-party democracy.
The group includes KMT Youth League Secretary-General Lee Zheng-hao (李正皓), KMT International Information and Events Center director Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), KMT Youth League chief Hsiao Ching-yan (蕭敬嚴) and former league chief Lin Chia-hsing (林家興).
The group called on the party and its members to support the project, which has six aims: To establish intra-party democracy, encourage young people to participate in politics, reform party affairs, solve the party’s dilemma over its assets, and stimulate debates over the party’s cross-strait policies and its identity narrative.
Photo: CNA.
Those who intend to run for the party’s chairmanship should reveal their intentions and set out concrete policies detailing in which direction they would take the party, the group said, adding that at least one policy presentation event and one debate should be held before the election.
The requirement that candidates should have served on the party’s Central Committee should be scrapped, the group said.
“Five percent of county and city councilor candidates fielded by the party should be younger people,” the alliance said. “The party should also set up a reform committee to reflect on the causes of the party’s electoral rout and committee members should not be restricted to party members.”
“The party’s assets have become the KMT’s debt,” Lee said. “The party should, while maintaining current and retired party workers’ benefits, formulate clear principles to manage its assets that meet the public’s expectations.”
“Only when the party’s dilemma over its assets is dealt with definitively will the KMT behave like a normal party — counting every cent it spends,” Lee said.
With regard to the party’s identity, Hsiao said that as Taiwanese adhere to different ideologies and national identities, the party should hold a debate on the direction of its cross-strait policies and formulate a position that is suitable for Taiwanese as a whole.
“The party’s stance that the Republic of China is the nation’s core value and Taiwan its identity should be rethought,” he added.
Hsu called on young people who support the KMT to become members and exercise their rights to join party representative elections and reform the party.
“We are going to promote our reform ideas by making public speeches in the six special municipalities starting from next week, and we also plan to launch a signature drive to solicit more support,” Hsu said.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS