The Kuomintang
 The Kuomintang 中國國民黨, also known as the KMT or Nationalist Party, celebrated its one hundredth anniversary November 24, 1994. The KMT has widespread appeal, with a membership of approximately 2.57 million and has won almost every major election with the exception of the 1997 election for county magistrates and city mayors and the 2000 presidential election. As a result of its defeat in the recent presidential election, the KMT initiated a major reorganization, including re-registration of its members.
At the grassroots level, members are organized into cells consisting of districts, counties, congresses, and committees. The highest level consists of the National Congress
全國代表大會 and the Central Committee
中央委員會.
The National Congress is the highest authority of the party. Its delegates are selected to serve four-year terms. The congress amends the party charter, determines the party platform and other important policies, elects the party chairman and the Central Committee members, and approves candidates nominated by the chairman to serve as vice chairmen and members of the Central Advisory Council
中央評議委員會. When the National Congress is in recess, the supreme party organization is the Central Committee, which holds a plenary session every year.
The Central Standing Committee 中央常務委員會, which represents the Central Committee when that body is not in session, is the most influential organization in the KMT. It meets every Wednesday morning to deliberate and approve important policies and nominate candidates for important positions.
General party affairs are managed by the secretariat under the secretary-general, currently Lin Fong-cheng
林豐正. The secretariat manages various party departments and commissions, and at lower levels, party organizations have their own secretariats and administrative staffs. All of these organizations, from the national to the local level, are funded primarily by profits from party-owned and operated business enterprises, ranging from newspapers and TV stations to electrical appliance companies and computer firms.
The first meeting of the KMT's 14th National Congress held in August 1993 approved significant changes in the conduct of party affairs, deciding that the National Congress would elect the party chairman through secret ballot. ROC President Lee Teng-hui
李登輝 won 83 percent of the votes and was reelected chairman of the party. In addition, four vice chairmen, nominated by the chairman and approved by the National Congress, were added to the Central Committee. It also decided that the chairman would appoint only 10 to 15 of the 31 members of the Central Standing Committee, with the remaining members elected by the Central Committee. Finally, it decided to hold the National Congress every two years, instead of four years. The second meeting of the 14th National Congress was held in August 1995 to nominate the party's presidential candidate for the March 1996 election.
In August 1997, the 15th National Congress was convened. President Lee Teng-hui was re-elected chairman of the party with 93 percent of the votes. The congress also approved four vice chairmen, one of whom was Vice President Lien Chan
連戰, and elected 230 Central Committee members. In the first plenary session of the 15th Central Committee held immediately after the congress, 17 members were elected to the enlarged Central Standing Committee and 16 were appointed by the chairman. In August 1998, a new Central Standing Committee was elected in the second plenary session of the 15th Central Committee.
In August 1999, the second meeting of the 15th National Congress ratified the nomination of Lien Chan and Vincent Siew
蕭萬長 as the KMT's presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2000 presidential election. At the third plenary session of the 15th Central Committee held later, the Central Standing Committee was reorganized.
After the KMT lost the presidential election in March 2000, Lee resigned as party chairman. Lien Chan succeeded him as the acting chairman. At the provisional meeting of the 15th National Congress held three months later, Lien was elected party chairman. Four new vice chairmen and one vice chairwoman were nominated by Lien and approved by the congress. At the fourth plenary session of the 15th Central Committee following the provisional meeting of the National Congress, 31 members were elected to the new Central Standing Committee, none of whom were appointed from above.
The provisional meeting also revised the party charter. One important change is the direct election of future party chairmen by all party members. The new charter also eliminates the provincial party organization.
Articles illustrating KMT's policy (Source: National Policy Foundation, KMT's think tank)
- It's time to look again at attack precautions
- A Brief on the "Confederation" Concept in the
Draft Platform of the Kuomintang Party
- The Undeclared "Special State-to-State" Formulation：A Year-End Review of President Chen's Mainland Policy
- WTO Expansion and Its Impact on APEC
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