The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must actively enlist the support of young voters if it is to win the elections next year or in 2024, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said yesterday as the party announced a series of youth programs.
In the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11 last year, the KMT received about 2 million to 3 million fewer votes than the Democratic Progressive Party from voters under 40, Chiang told a news conference in Taipei, citing data.
“This is a huge gap,” said Chiang, who was elected party chairman in a by-election on March 7 last year to replace former KMT chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義).
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
If the KMT is to return to power, whether in the local elections next year or the general elections in 2024, it must work to gain the support of young people, Chiang said.
After a year of youth-related activities, the KMT has seen some gains, although there is still work to be done, he said.
More than 3,500 people under 40 have registered to become members of the KMT in the past year, he said.
In the lead-up to last year’s chairperson by-election, there were only about 9,000 official members under the age of 40, he said.
Polls have shown a “significant” increase over the past year in the approval rating of the party among young respondents, he added.
“From national policies to municipal issues, we hope to bring the voices of young people into the KMT and promote dialogue” with them, Chiang said.
The KMT would “welcome with open arms” young talent who are willing to take part in public and party affairs, he said.
The KMT Department of Youth Affairs is to host two-day camps in different parts of the nation over several weekends, the department said.
The first session is to take place in Taipei on March 20 and 21, and would focus on housing justice, it said, adding that 30 people are expected to attend.
Other sessions would focus on areas including culture, the environment, agriculture, labor rights and tourism, it said, adding that each session would feature collaborations with different non-governmental organizations.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a friendship group with their counterparts in Ukraine to promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries. A ceremony in Taipei for the Taiwan-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association, initiated by DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), was attended by lawmakers and officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Lutz Gullner. The increasingly dire situation in Ukraine is a global concern, and Taiwan cannot turn its back when the latter is in need of help, as the two countries share many common values and interests,
RSS