▲江啟臣獲選《時代》百大「次世代領導人」。（圖／取自TIME網站）
記者徐政璿／台北報導
國民黨主席江啟臣自2020年3月7日上任以來，即將屆滿一週年，本月17日獲美國《時代》雜誌（TIME）評選為2021百大「明日之星」（2021 TIME100 NEXT），這是國民黨的歷任領導人當中，首位獲得此頭銜殊榮的黨主席。
《時代》提到，江啟臣為亞洲最「老牌政黨」國民黨（KMT）有史以來最年輕的領導人，他知道改革台灣的國民黨並非易事；在國民黨連續兩次遭遇慘敗的情況下，他知道要帶領黨擺脫高齡化，並吸引新世代的選民。
《時代》指出，問題在於，國民黨長期以來一直認為台灣和中國大陸是同屬於一個國家，這一觀念受到了北京的歡迎，但卻與渴望開拓自己道路的台灣年輕人疏遠。
《時代》表示，重新調整這個立場，對國民黨的未來至關重要，但是，這有可能激怒日益鷹派的北京政府。北京政府一再誓言，一旦台灣宣布獨立，將展開侵略行為，而美國售台灣軍武，也可能捲入區域衝突。《時代》甚至認為，區域的穩定可能取決於江啟臣的能力。
最後，江啟臣也告訴《時代》：「青年將成為我們黨的主要決策者。」
Elected in 2020 as the youngest-ever leader of Asia’s oldest political party, 48-year-old Johnny Chiang knew that reforming Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) wouldn’t be easy.
But given that his party had just suffered two straight crushing election defeats, he knew they needed to move away from their aging base and attract a new generation of voters.
The problem: the KMT has long held the position that self-ruling Taiwan and the Chinese mainland are a part of the same country—a notion welcomed by Beijing but alienating to young Taiwanese eager to forge their own way.
Recalibrating this stance is vital to the future of the KMT; however, it risks angering an increasingly hawkish Chinese government, which has repeatedly vowed to invade should Taiwan declare independence. Moreover, the U.S. is obliged by treaty to sell Taiwan weapons, and could be drawn into any conflict.
Regional stability may rely on the ability of Chiang—a U.S.-trained former academic and economist—to navigate this tightrope while quelling populist voices within his own ranks. “The youth will be the major decision-makers in our party,” Chiang tells TIME.
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