The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a youth recruitment conference yesterday as it seeks to recruit more young people and counter criticism of it being “too old.”
Despite being accused by the Democratic Progressive Party of being old-fashioned and “pro-China,” the KMT’s years-long process of “becoming younger” has already produced results, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said at the conference.
The party plans to provide young members with opportunities such as international exchanges, training programs and internships, he said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
At the conference, called the “KMT Succession Plan,” Chu said that he had always pushed for the party to become younger.
Those efforts have already borne fruit with the KMT establishing a representative office in the US, continuing to build relationships internationally, and sending a delegation to the Republican and Democratic national conventions this year in the US, Chu said.
KMT Studio combines the resources of the KMT Youth League and the Institute of Revolutionary Practice to provide training and new opportunities, Chu said, referring to a technology platform and Web site launched in March to facilitate training and educational initiatives within the party.
Starting on Jan. 1 next year, municipal councils are to increase their budgets and headcounts, while the KMT intends to organize workshops and classes to attract young members, Chu said.
Chu called on young people to work together to supervise the government and maintain the KMT’s strength as the main opposition party.
KMT Studio organizer, Legislator Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞), said that in the current political climate, some are seeking to make Taiwan’s democratic society less free and open.
Ko said when faced with differing opinions, some people will say: “You are fired,” but as the KMT is open to new members, they can instead tell young people: “You are hired.”
The KMT plans to train people to join local councils and offices as interns or trainees in hopes of eventually promoting them to aides and develop successors for the future, Ko said.
At the end of the event, Chu and young attendees tore off name tags with terms like “clueless youth,” “conservative” and “pro-China” as they shouted new slogans.
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