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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 DPP membership number soars after Jan. 16 elections
DIVERSITY: The increase in the number of people joining the party has lowered the average age and covered more people from many walks of life
/ Staff writer, with CNA
The number of people applying to join or return to the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） has risen sharply since its Jan. 16 victory in the presidential and legislative elections, the Chinese-language United Daily News said.
President-elect Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） of the DPP, which will have full legislative and administrative control for the first time, is to assume office on Friday next week
The report said that the number of DPP members in Kaohsiung increased the most — from 40,000 to 50,000 — making it the municipality with the most DPP members in the nation.
DPP Taipei chapter head Huang Cheng-kuo （黃承國） said that since the beginning of this year, the number of people applying to join the party in the capital has been more than about a dozen per month, with their ages tending to be younger.
The party’s Taoyuan chapter said the number of its members increased by nearly 900 over the past two months, including the return of 200 former party members and more than 600 new applicants.
DPP Taichung chapter head Liu Wen-chin （劉文欽） said that about 600 people per month have applied to join the party since the victory earlier this year.
They are mostly under 40, and from all walks of life, compared with the past, when blue-collar workers comprised the majority, Liu said, adding that more white-collar workers are identifying with the party.
Not only has the number of DPP members increased rapidly, the competition for the heads of local chapters has also become fierce, especially in Pingtung, Changhua and New Taipei City.
In comparison, the Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT）, which suffered a drubbing in the elections, has seen its membership fall sharply.
The number of KMT members in Kaohsiung fell from 100,000 to 80,000 and the number in Taoyuan slid from 89,000 to 75,000, while in New Taipei City the number dropped from 94,000 to 82,000.
Other areas saw moderate KMT membership decreases, with Taipei loosing 100 members to 67,392 and Keelung loosing 400 members to 15,600.
Bucking the trend was Taichung, with memberships increasing from 58,096 to 60,000 and Taitung with an increase from 21,000 to 22,000.
A KMT Taitung chapter official said that after the elections, an average of 30 to 40 people applied to join the party per month, with some saying that “they hope to get the floundering KMT back on its feet.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
