The number of people in their 20s with a positive impression of the KMT has increased by more than 20 percent in the past six months, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Department of Youth Affairs said yesterday.
The group touted the success of the party’s efforts to increase youth participation, which KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) had highlighted earlier this year during his chairmanship campaign, when he pointed out that there were only about 9,100 young KMT members, accounting for 3.16 percent of its membership, department director Chen Kuan-an (陳冠安) said.
The party has since worked to increase youth participation, by reserving party official seats for younger members, holding its largest youth camp, increasing its new media communication capabilities and implementing the reforms of Chiang’s campaign to redesign the party, he said.
Chen cited a poll that shows that younger people are regaining trust in the KMT.
Compared with a similar poll in March, the positive impression of the KMT among people in their 20s has increased from 10.9 percent to 31.2 percent, which is the highest increase among all age groups, he said.
About 8,000 people have joined the party since it lost the presidential election in January, among which 3,200 were people aged 40 or younger, accounting for more than 40 percent of the new members, Chen said.
The number of young KMT members has grown to more than 12,000, an increase of 35 percent, he added.
The party’s reform efforts to attract youth participation have been shown to be effective, and it would continue to work to win support from young people who identify with the Republic of China, he said.
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