Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) membership has increased by 2,405 members in the past 20 days since Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) was elected as the new chairperson, KMT spokesperson Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) said today.
Cheng formally assumed the position on Saturday last week.
The new members include 993 returning members and 1,412 first-time members, he said, which reflects their high hopes for the future of the party.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Moreover, a lot of the new members are not elderly, as was the case in the past, with many people under 40 and representing different generations and backgrounds, he said.
Cheng pledged to be an active party chair, and would attend various KMT anniversary events being hosted across the country by the KMT’s Central Committee, he said.
The KMT’s Organization and Development Committee has been reviewing membership records to accommodate the steady stream of new and returning members, he added.
As chair of the KMT’s Culture and Media Committee, Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) said that many have joined the party recently, including a personal friend who signed up just one or two days after Cheng was elected.
The friend said he looks forward to her leadership and hopes that the KMT can break free from previous “false issues,” Wu said.
Regarding public criticism that Cheng chose older party members for personnel appointments, Wu said that generational renewal does not depend on age, but means moving from one-sided decisionmaking to collective decisions involving seniors, the middle-aged and young people, working together to lead Taiwan to a better future.
Older members bring experience and younger members offer energy and innovation, he added.
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