In an attempt to woo support and votes in the runup to next March's presidential election, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has launched a Web site specifically geared to the nation's youth.
"The purpose of the launching of this Web site is to attract young people to voluntarily get involved in the party's campaign for the upcoming presidential election," KMT Legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said at the launch of the Web Site held at the Taipei Youth Recreation Center yesterday.
Lin, 35, became the head of the KMT's youth-affairs branch last month. The branch concentrates on attracting support from younger voters.
The Web site was also established to appeal to young adults who have an interest in politics, Lin said.
"By joining the site's on-line membership, these young people will constitute a talent pool where they get the opportunity to be trained and cultivated by the party to become future political stars," he said.
The Web site features numerous casual photos of KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), who is running on a joint ticket with his People First Party (PFP) counterpart James Soong (宋楚瑜) in next year's presidential election.
The Web site also has a chat room and is loaded with visual effects such as flash animations and designs and to attract visitors' attention.
Noting that the site already boasts a membership of 1,200, Lin said the goal of the Web site "is to reach a membership of 15,000 and becomes one of the youths' favorite Web sites."
In an apparent bid to better connect with the online visitors, the Web site also features several of Lien's personal items such as his handkerchief, his home slippers, his razor and some of his favorite snacks.
Meanwhile, Soong was in Seoul yesterday meeting with former South Korean premier Kim Jong-pil (金鍾泌).
Soong told Kim that "the economy is the lifeblood of a country's existence," a PFP press statement said.
"The success in consolidating and establishing democratic system depends on the development of a [prosperous] economy," the press statement quoted Soong as saying.
Soong left for Seoul on Tuesday to meet with South Korean political heavyweights and influential executives as part of the KMT-PFP alliance's presidential campaign activities.
During his visit with Kim, the two exchanged views on issues relating to economic and democratic development, as well as touching on the possible impacts that North Korea's nuclear crisis might have on security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Both Kim and Soong shared a strong consensus on the matters they discussed," the press release said.
"Both acknowledged that in light of the sensitive times in which we live, maintaining regional security is a primary issue facing the region and that no one ought to be allowed to engage in provocative conduct and damage the security of the Asia-Pacific region," the press release said.
Soong is scheduled to return to Taipei today.
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