Thu, Dec 14, 2023 page3

• KMT says its survey shows it ahead of DPP

  • By Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential ticket topped their Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rivals by 0.8 percent in an internal poll, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said at a meeting of its Central Standing Committee in Taipei yesterday.

  Support for New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), the KMT’s presidential and vice presidential candidates, has been rising recently.

  The party’s daily internal poll yesterday showed that support for the pair had overtaken the DPP’s candidates, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) and his running mate, former representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴).

  

  KMT Chairman Eric Chu, right, speaks at the party’s central standing committee meeting in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

  The KMT needs more support among people aged 20 to 40, as well as in southern Taiwan, including Tainan and Kaohsiung, and Pingtung, Yunlin and Chiayi counties, Chu said.

  The party’s candidates are leading in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan and Taichung, as well as in Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua and Nantou counties, he said.

  The KMT must consider strategies to flip regions with low support, he said.

  KMT estimates show there would be “major” contention over 15 legislative seats, Chu said, adding that winning in those regions would determine whether the KMT regains a legislative majority.

  KMT secretary-general Huang Chien-ting (黃健庭) and the party’s Organization and Development Affairs Committee are to review strategies to secure legislative seats, he said.

  Chu asked party members to help with the election effort, making special mention of the work that former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and other party members who are local council speakers have done for its campaigns.

  The KMT is concerned about the welfare of young people, which is reflected in its campaign platforms, Chu said.

  The KMT supports waiving down payments and providing subsidies for young people who buy property, allowing more to own their own home, he said.

  It supports state-funded after-class consultation for elementary-school students to ease the burden on parents, he said.

  Separately, Hou told a news conference on Tuesday that if elected president, he would introduce free after-school care for children aged six to 12.

  The scheme would benefit about 300,000 families, including 80,000 considered “underprivileged,” he said.

  The program would provide after-school care until 7pm, including during vacations, he said, adding that it would allocate NT$5.4 billion (US$171.29 million) in the first year, rising to NT$8 billion in the 2024-2025 academic year and NT$10 billion in the 2026-2027 academic year, he said.

  The policy would create “a safe environment for children and their parents” and “provide a sound and reliable service for less-privileged students,” Hou said.

  The program would be offered whenever parents need it, he added.

  In addition, special classes would be provided for underprivileged children, as well as those living in remote areas and those with disabilities, he said.

  Access to the program would be expanded to cover about 360,000 children, or about 30 percent of students nationwide, he said.

  The addition of an extra 20,000 after-school care classes would bring Taiwan on par with the level set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, he said.

  The program would help create jobs, giving young people seeking work in the education sector more employment opportunities, he said.

  Government data showed that there were 26,731 after-school care classes for 445,882 students at 1,926 public schools during the 2022-2023 academic year.

  Additional reporting by CNA
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