KMT Party Anniversary Combined with 160th Anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's Birth to Rally Support for Year-End Elections
The KMT is turning this year's party anniversary into an election warm-up event — good news for Blue camp candidates who urgently need to boost their vote counts, and pressure on grassroots morale amid a lukewarm campaign atmosphere.
- With two months left before the November 28 nine-in-one local elections, the KMT is combining its November 24 party anniversary with the November 12 commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the birth of national founder Sun Yat-sen, folding the occasion directly into campaign support and rally efforts.
- Internal assessments find the election climate lukewarm this year, with insufficient willingness among young people to vote, and the party hopes large-scale events will lift supporters' momentum.
- The first major regional rally is set for October 17 in Changhua, serving as a warm-up for the year-end campaign.
- Beyond rallies, the party will continue to drive turnout through local organizational networks, consolidation meetings, and grassroots mobilization.
- Using the anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's birth to discuss the party's founding history and direction for reform is an attempt to play the heritage card while also courting centrist voters.
Outlook: The specific format of the party anniversary events has yet to be finalized, but from October onward Blue camp rallies will come one after another, and whether turnout can be raised will determine the year-end map of city and county mayoralties.