KMT to set up committee to implement party reform

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) The decision-making body of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) on Wednesday approved a proposal to establish a committee to enact reforms within the party, following its crushing defeat in Taiwan's general elections on Jan. 11.

The reforms will focus on four main areas -- the KMT organization, its cross-Taiwan Strait narrative, finances, and youth involvement, according to the KMT Central Standing Committee (CSC).

A reform committee will be established, with four sub-groups assigned to handle the major reform proposals and present preliminary recommendations to the CSC, hopefully before the end of March, according to the party.

Each sub-group will comprise fewer than 25 members, including city mayors, county magistrates, legislators, local councilors, youth representatives, members of the CSC, academics, and the candidates in the party's upcoming chairmanship election, KMT Legislator Wang Yu-min (王育敏) told reporters.

After the Lunar New Year holiday, interim KMT Chairman Lin Rong-te (林榮德) will lead the efforts to form the committee, with assistance from the party's interim Secretary General Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗), said Wang, who also serves as acting director-general of the KMT's Cultural and Communications Committee.

Also on Wednesday, the KMT confirmed that it will elect a new Central Standing Committee on March 7, the same day its chairmanship election will be held.

The tenures of the current CSC members were slated to end last October but were extended due to the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.

Wang said the KMT will make a formal announcement on Jan. 30 regarding the CSC election, and candidates will be allowed to register Feb. 5 and 6.

Under the KMT charter, the CSC may comprise 39-44 members, with 32 selected by the party's national congress. At least five CSC members should be KMT city mayors or county magistrates and at least one-fourth should be women, according to the charter.

This time around, the party will encourage its younger members to run for seats on the CSC, according to Wang.

Meanwhile, KMT members affiliated with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the China's National People's Congress will be barred from seeking seats on the CSC, he said.

That decision was made in light of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's criticisms of the KMT's close ties to China, Wang said.

In the Jan. 11 elections, the KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) lost by nearly 20 percent to incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), and the party won only 38 of the 113 legislative seats.