The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Youth Department yesterday said that 3,545 people under the age of 40 became party members last year, up about 40 percent from 2019.
Department director Chen Kuan-an (陳冠安) shared the figure while delivering a report on the department’s youth development plans for this year to members of the KMT’s Central Standing Committee at their weekly meeting in Taipei.
The meeting was chaired by KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣).
Estimates based on data from National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center showed that the KMT received about 3 million fewer votes than the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from voters aged 20 to 39 in last year’s presidential election, Chen said.
The 3,545 young members were willing to join the KMT at its “darkest moment,” Chen said, referring to the period following the KMT’s defeat in the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11 last year.
In 2019, the KMT had only about 9,000 members under the age of 40, he said, attributing the increase to the efforts of the KMT Institute of Revolutionary Practice, as well as his department.
At the end of last year, the KMT was about 4.7 percent behind the DPP in terms of support from young people, the closest-ever margin, he said, citing data released by the KMT-affiliated National Policy Foundation in November last year.
The closing of the gap since the election shows that the KMT has a chance to, and should try to, win the support of young people, he said.
The KMT’s youth, new media and policy research departments would each, through an open call, recruit deputy directors from young people who have previously participated in camps and salons held by the KMT, Chen said.
A spokesperson position in the KMT Culture and Communications Committee could also be reserved for someone who gained an audition, Chiang said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS