We have to win back the heart of Taiwan’s young: defeated KMT
After its crushing defeat in Saturday’s election, the Kuomintang must nurture young leaders and embrace its role as the opposition if it is to regain power in four years’ time, party members and analysts said.
The election was the “KMT’s worst defeat since 1949”, according to KMT central committee member Darby Liu. Others were more upbeat, saying the KMT still had a strong base to build from.
“There is a big gap in the party’s cadre development,” said professor Ko Chih-en of Tamkang University, also a KMT legislator. “We have to fix it. We have to win back the heart of the younger generation.”
Many observers believe the failure to win over young voters in the aftermath of the student-led “Sunflower movement” was a major cause of the defeat. In contrast, the victorious Democratic Progressive Party had capitalised on the youth vote.
“Where is the KMT’s Tsai Ing-wen? Who can put it together?” Ko asked, referring to the island’s newly elected president.
Shelly Rigger, a professor of East Asian politics at Davidson College, said the KMT leadership had grown increasingly distant from its grassroots and power bases.
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Cheng Tun-jen, a professor of government at the College of William & Mary, said the KMT was “down but not out, yet”, and it should nurture young leaders, even from outside the establishment.
Cheng said the KMT’s social base was still strong, and the party was still an effective organisation.
In addition to lacking the support of youngsters, the Ma Ying-jeou administration was blamed for its poor handling of the economy. Power struggles within the KMT and policy flip-flops on key domestic issues were also blamed.
Joseph Wong, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, said the failure could push the party towards self-reflection and rejuvenation.
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Huang Min-hua, a professor of National Taiwan University, said the KMT had to utilise its role in parliament – it has nearly a third of seats – to play the role of opposition.
“It is the only way it can ever go back,” he said adding that should the DPP administration fail to deliver, the impatient Taiwan voters might want to try with a reformed KMT.
However, in the long run, the rise of a younger generation with a stronger Taiwan-based identity may continue to trouble the KMT, which translates literally as “Chinese Nationalist Party”.
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“The idea that the KMT is an invading regime has [grown] in the mind of young people since the change of history textbooks in 2000 [when the DPP was in power],” said Liu. “The legitimacy of the Republic of China and the KMT has been undermined.”
Cross Strait Policy Association secretary-general Hung Yao-nan said the younger generation did not see everything through a pro-blue or pro-green mindset. Pro-blue generally means favouring greater links with the mainland.
The blue-green ratio is changing every year. In the past few years, as the older generation has faded out, the ratio among first-time voters was 1:9, according to Hung.
Observers said the KMT must adapt to reflect a more Taiwan-based identity, rather than clinging to its past as the Chinese Nationalist Party.
