The main theme for the ruling party's second "out to the countryside activities" is "The China Kuomintang Again Sets Out--Confidently and Proudly, Move Forward on the Path of Democracy." Besides enhancing the ruling party's prestige, the activity has another important goal: to introduce and promote the ruling party's nominees for the year end elections.

The Taipei City party branch held a parade hoping to bring the candidates and the voters in closer contact in a relaxed, lively atmosphere. In Penghu County, they added weight to the nominees' speeches. In Kaohsiung County, to coordinate with Teachers' Day, they invited Minister of Education Mao Kao-wen to give teachers' morale a boost.

After Taipei City holds its activities, the ruling party will hold 38 events throughout the province. The last one will bring down the curtain in Changhwa on November 11.

Taking aim at the excessively high intent of the first "out to the countryside" activities, when speeches were focused on mainland policy, labor issues, and social disorder, the ruling party has made a large scale change for the current activities. The goal is to adapt to local conditions and get into the actual needs of the locality.

The KMT Department of Organization Affairs (DOA) also hopes that government officials can provide "construction payments" or "problem solving proposals" based on the locality's construction needs or special problems.

The performance of Yu Yu-hsien, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, in Penghu, on September 9, drew considerable praise. Yu prepared well for the occasion. Aiming at Penghu's special nature of having fishing as its main industry, he specially brought the leading personnel of the Fisheries Department of the COA. Before and after speaking they used their time to observe local ports and fishing industry construction to increase their understanding of local problems.

When discussions began, they were opened by the candidates. Yu batted cleanup. On this occasion he did not discuss the relatively remote agricultural policy, but responded to the locally oriented questions of the speakers who had gone before him. For example, he addressed subsidies for the fishing industry's salt use costs, the dredging of the harbor and sinking of ships to form a manmade fish breeding area, and other issues. Chairman Yu promised to include these in the budget. Further, as for problems like reducing the price of oil used by fishing boats, because this problem involved the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Yu responded, "Currently there is a consensus with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and this policy will be implemented."

The DOA invested a great deal of thought in arranging speakers. Aside from the principle of variety, they chose an elite strategy, and reduced the number to 56 from the 75 of the first wave. They reduced a proportion of the scholars, show business people, and those working in the media. Among the newly added 35 invitees were youth representative and renowned stock market pundit Hu Li-yang and business executives Wu Shih-chung and Lee Cheng-chia.

Among them many were outstanding speakers in the party primaries. Though some, like Ting Shou-chung, Chu Hsin-ming and Chang Chun-tang, lost in the primary, they were all invited to participate to assist the ruling party.

The domestic stock market is currently the hottest topic. Hu Li-yang, who has repeatedly argued that the Taiwan stock market has a great future, will speak in Taichung on November 4. What will he say? "How Taiwan's stock market can be guided toward normalization will be the main contents," he replies. "I have continually maintained deep confidence in Taiwan's capital markets." What he's most worried about is, "When I speak, the stock market had best go up. Otherwise I'll be hooted off the stage."

The DOA indicates that this will be a knowledgeable discussion. From it people can understand the national situation and the suggestions of specialized persons. This indicates the inclusiveness of the ruling party. It can attract different views and different voters.

Besides this, the face of these activities has been broadened. As Ching Feng-kang, vice-director of the DOA says, "The spread of information locally is inadequate; the achievement of the ruling party must be to strengthen propaganda and guidance." The number of events has been increased from 24 in the first wave to 38.

The initiation of these two large-scale actions by the ruling party seems to be directed at the year end elections. However, in the long view, the ruling party is improving its structure. For those party workers long practiced in organizational work, how can they adapt their steps to the KMT initiative, come closer to the people, and accept the people's criticisms? This is the greatest challenge facing the ruling party.

John Kuan, director of the DOA and vice-secretary general of the KMT, in discussing the concepts behind these activities, indicates that his motive comes from two directions. One, faced with the coming of party politics, the ruling party is turning from the role of controller to that of competitor. It must get into the habit of going among the people, facing the people, and letting the people know what's being done for them. Moreover, the KMT must understand the people's thinking.

The second thing is to strengthen activities of organization workers. In the past, the party more or less felt that mass activities would exhaust the organization workers. Mass activities became the speciality of the opposition. In the face of future political responsibilities, the organizational workers can get in some warm-ups.

For the ruling party, it is a great opportunity to train personnel. One worker in the DOA points out that not only can party workers become familiar with types of activities and cultivate skilled persons to arrange them, an even more positive meaning is exploring how to establish a model that is not inciteful but can be accepted by the people.

As far as all the citizens are concerned, they hope the year end elections can be "competition among gentlemen," and that they can cash in all the checks written out during the campaign.

[Picture Caption]

The "second wave" began with the Taipei party apparatus. Despite a drizz le, the people at Youth Park were as enthusiastic as they ever were.

The witty singer Chang Ti (Chang Chih-min) is running for election. Here his campaign assistants become living ads.

Lee Sheng-feng, a noted orator in the Legislative Yuan, was one of the ruler party's prime picks as a "salesman" in its country-wide speaking campaign.

Chang Hsia-yen, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, braved the rain to com e out and speak. This elderly gentleman was kind enough to hold out a tennis racquet for protection.

The witty singer Chang Ti （Chang Chih-min） is running for election. Here his campaign assistants become living ads.

Lee Sheng-feng, a noted orator in the Legislative Yuan, was one of the ruler party's prime picks as a "salesman" in its country-wide speaking campaign.

Chang Hsia-yen, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, braved the rain to com e out and speak. This elderly gentleman was kind enough to hold out a tennis racquet for protection.