Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) Long gone are the days when almost nine out of 10 supporters of Taiwan's UN bid were senior citizens, thanks to the Taiwan United Nations Alliance's (TAIUNA's) efforts to reach out to the younger generation and energize the campaign, the TAIUNA Youth Corps leader said.
"The response from the youth has been overwhelming so far. Actually, it's even a little bit surprising," Yen Sheng-kuan, captain of the Youth Corps who also serves as a Taipei City councilor, said on the sideline of a press conference announcing a civic delegation's departure to New York City for promoting the Taiwan U.N. bid.
A number of Youth Corps members are taking part in the 80-member delegation.
The TAIUNA Youth Corps was established in March this year in hopes of promoting awareness and gaining support among the young generation about Taiwan's U.N. bid, Yen said, adding that the group now has over 100 members: mostly university and graduate school students.
The youngsters have been trying to energize the predominantly "old" organization and the its U.N. bid rally with creative ideas and initiatives, such as blogs, self-made video clips and images, and various events, she said.
"Given the situation that Taiwan is in, Taiwanese youngsters have no right to be pessimistic. We need to step up and act now, " said Chang Chih-hao, who was recently named the first "Mr. UN for Taiwan" and will represent the corps to promote the bid in New York City. A Miss UN for Taiwan was selected as well.
The corps also set up a booth last week urging young people to sign U.N. bid petitions in Ximending where a lot of young people hang out during the weekend. Yen said the response was very impressive.
"There were many young people signing the petition, asking for stickers and promotional materials and vocally showed their support in Taiwan's U.N. bid. Contrary to what the traditional wisdom tells us, the younger generation does pay attention to politics and national affairs, " Yen said.
"But they do need a channel to voice their opinions and participate in public interest-related events like this, " she said.