Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) on Sunday called for rolling reviews of a new party policy that favors new and young candidates for local elections.
The policy, which was passed by the KMT Central Standing Committee on Thursday, would give weighted preference to KMT candidates who are newcomers to the party or under the age of 35 in November’s city councilor elections for the six special municipalities.
After the policy sparked controversy among veteran party members, Chiang, who is also a lawmaker, said that senior party members should not be “too lazy” in their handling of the issue, and urged an ongoing review of the policy.
Photo: Chang Hsuan-che, Taipei Times
Some veteran KMT members have said that giving weighted preference in the nomination process to newcomers would interfere with the normal process of giving weighted preference to those with party seniority.
A similar preferential system had been used for young candidates during the 2018 local elections, and it proved largely to be the right approach for the KMT, but more discussion is needed to work out finer details, Chiang said.
“We do not want good intentions to be misunderstood, as that could affect the election results,” he said.
The party hopes to see more young people participating in the elections, in a manner “characteristic of the KMT,” he said.
Separately, Tony Lin (林鼎超), KMT candidate for New Taipei City’s fourth constituency, which covers the Sanchong (三重) and Lujhou (蘆洲) districts, said that the party’s nomination process needs to be more diverse.
Young people would be uninterested in the elections if they see that seniority, public sector experience, age and other related factors are a hindrance, rather than a benefit, to candidacy, he said, adding that this would harm party unity.
Lin, 38, has served as a special assistant to senior party member Sean Lien (連勝文), headed youth affairs for former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and has worked in finance.
“Preferred weighting for young candidates has demonstrated the party’s sincerity in calling for youth participation, but if we look at age alone” it would be unfair, he said.
The party could consider applying such weighting in other areas, such as referendum campaigning, participation in political commentary, and party roles such as spokesperson, chairperson and vice chairperson, he said.
Young people who gain relevant experience in the public sector, as an assistant to a councilor or legislator, or as a section chief for example could also be given greater weighting for nominations, he said.
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