{"id":23991,"date":"2024-04-03T13:27:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T05:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=23991"},"modified":"2024-08-22T12:14:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T04:14:35","slug":"young-blood-in-taiwanese-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2024\/04\/young-blood-in-taiwanese-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Blood in Taiwanese Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More Young Taiwanese Join Parties Pushing for Change<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Pauline Yau<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Youth, holding dialogue sessions with lawmakers and young people, taking part in election campaigns and making videos for social media posts are on university student Tsai Ping-an\u2019s duty list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsai joined DPP\u2019s youth organization in 2021. He helped solicit votes at the 2022 Taipei mayor election for DPP\u2019s candidate Chen Shih-chung and the four major referendums in 2021 for issues ranging from environment, and energy to food safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2024, Tsai helped (DPP) president-elect Willian Lai Ching-te to solicit votes in the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 21-year-old says the 2019 social movement in Hong Kong is a wake-up call for him.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe social movement has made us cherish what (democracy) we have now. We realize  how easily it can be taken away,\u201d the National Taiwan Normal University student says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is only one president, and 113 legislators in Taiwan. It is not enough to rely on them alone to make Taiwan a better place. People like us, as their team members and supporters, also have to work hard to help Taiwan move forward,\u201d Tsai says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has met many others in his peer group who share the same core values as him at campaign rallies and activities held by DPP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTaiwanese of all ages know that our road to democracy has always been rocky. We now enjoy freedom of speech after 38 years of martial law. We can protest. We must work hard to protect our system,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tsai Ping-an, a cadre of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Youth, in the DPP\u2019s campaign headquarters.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Among 19.3 million voters, one million are first-time voters, amounting to six per cent of the total population according to Taiwan\u2019s Central Election Commission. Meanwhile, at least a quarter of voters are between 20-40 years old. The figures show that young voters have a significant impact on the outcome of the election. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Taiwan, citizens aged 20 years old or above are eligible voters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking My Opinions Into the Legislative Yuan<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Li Guan-ting, another university student, shares Cai\u2019s view about civic participation, but does not share his choice of political party. Li joined the Taiwan People\u2019s Party\u2019s (TPP) Youth Organisation in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though I am not an official member of the political party, I can express my opinion to party members. I hope the party considers my opinion when drafting policy proposals which are submitted to the government,\u201d Li says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, he met TPP\u2019s vice-president candidate Cynthia Wu Hsin-ying to discuss issues related to sovereign wealth fund, a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate, at the Legislative Yuan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI worry about the sustainability of sovereign wealth funds. It might be hollowed out, leading to financial loss for the public. Cynthia Wu agreed that there are policies that can be formulated to prevent such issues by studying experience in other countries,\u201d Li recalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


Apart from taking part in policy discussions, Li also runs community services with funding from the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not paid. The party distributes funds to us so that we can run community services that we are passionate about, such as taking stray cats and dogs to be vaccinated,\u201d Li says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li says there are more opportunities for young people to voice their views in TPP, which was established in 2019, compared with the other two major parties with a longer history, namely DPP and Kuomintang (KMT). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKMT is a party that is 105 years old. It is less likely to make big changes to the system and the political environment. The two parties have political models that they have been following for years. While it is a relatively stable system, it also means that innovation is rare,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Li Guan-ting, Taiwan People\u2019s Party\u2019s Youth Organisation member after joining TTP\u2019s campaign rally.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf You don\u2019t Care about Politics, Politics doesn\u2019t Care about You.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

University student Lo Yung-sheng has a different view from Li and prefers joining a political party with a long history.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 22-year-old student joined KMT as a youth league leader in 2022.  He thinks the 105-year-old party is pragmatic when dealing with issues such as relations with mainland China, the economy, and the environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKMT\u2019s pragmatic approach can unite the people in Taiwan and really help Taiwan move forward,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When having discussion with older party members, Lo says that he does not necessarily always have to agree with them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among all matters, Lo feels especially frustrated about the visit to the office of Beijing\u2019s envoy to Hong Kong by KMT\u2019s Han Kuo-yu, now the speaker of the island\u2019s legislature, in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTaiwanese people are heartbroken about what happened in Hong Kong. I think it is inappropriate for him to do so,\u201d Lo says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Han, who was then the mayor of Taiwan\u2019s southern city of Kaohsiung, became the first Taiwanese mayor to visit the Liaison Office of the Central People\u2019s Government in Hong Kong, in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Han\u2019s actions sparked controversies.  The visit was interpreted by political commentators as a \u201cpolitical act that falls under the One Country, Two Systems framework.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite his disagreements with Han\u2019s stance on Hong Kong, Lo admits Han has merit regarding stabilizing support from older citizens and protecting national security in Taiwan.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding his peers\u2019 cold attitudes towards politics, Lo insists on voicing out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you do not care about politics, you do not care about your own life. If you do not care about your own life, what you desire will be taken away by politics,\u201d he says.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
KMT\u2019s Youth League\u2019s leader Lo Yung-sheng (right) at the KMT campaign rally.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Young People Lining Up to Join Political Parties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremy Chiang Huai-Che, an associate research fellow of the Foundation for Future Generation points out young people usually are the group that has little interest in politics in most democratic countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut since democracy in Taiwan is still relatively young, youngsters in Taiwan are more passionate about politics,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of young people aged under 40 joining KMT\u2019s young league has been increasing since 2020, from 3676 in 2020 to 6236 in 2022, showing a growth rate of around 69 per cent, according to KMT Organisational Development Committee\u2019s statistics.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, ne<\/a>arly 85 per cent of TPP\u2019s members are under the age of 45, according to TTP\u2019s official statistics. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYoung people became very active in political participation during the Sunflower Student Movement in 2014,\u201d Chiang says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, students protested against the passing of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement by the then ruling KMT at the legislature without a clause-by-clause review. The youngsters perceived the agreement with the People’s Republic of China would harm Taiwan\u2019s economy. They occupied the Legislative Yuan as an act of defiance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chiang adds that Ko Wen-je, a presidential candidate for the 2024 election, has helped encourage more young people to participate in politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKo Wen-je has made use of young people\u2019s dissent regarding the economy to gain support in the presidential election. He has also successfully gained support from the young with social media tactics,\u201d Chiang says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost young people are interested in politics now, even those who are too young to experience the Sunflower Movement,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Kamun Lai<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sub-edited by Charlotte Wu<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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