Young people's perspectives are not well represented in Taiwanese politics, with policymakers often providing oversimplified and superficial solutions to complex youth issues. This disconnect became starkly apparent in 2022 when a constitutional referendum to lower the voting age failed, highlighting the lack of commitment from political actors to engage young people in meaningful ways. Meanwhile, youth-focused civil society organisations struggle with limited resources, hampering their ability to conduct meaningful research and run effective advocacy campaigns that could create lasting change.

Recognising this gap, WFD supported the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy (TYAD) to produce a more comprehensive, evidence-based, and inclusive policy paper, which was later used to effectively engage key stakeholders and drive policy changes. Through extensive focus group discussions and consultations with a diverse group of people, TYAD produced a more robust, practical set of findings and recommendations that have since been referenced in ongoing legislation of a bill supporting positive youth development.

The main recommendations of the paper include providing affordable and quality housing for young people, reducing working hours and boosting wages, making public transport more popular, and eliminating the stigma around mental health issues.  

Upon completing the paper, TYAD hosted a press conference to share findings, spotlighting issues that matter to young people—such as education, national defence, housing, and the labour environment—and called on presidential candidates to address these topics. TYAD later shared the white paper with the four potential presidential candidate camps (DPP, KMT, TPP, and Terry Gou) and invited them to participate in the 2023 Youth Forum. The two candidates that attended responded to the issues raised in the white paper and engaged directly with over 500 young people in the audience. The forum not only amplified young people's concerns but also increased public awareness of the importance of youth-focused policies and built support for the Youth Basic Law.  

Following the Youth Forum and the January 2024 elections, TYAD held a press conference on 12 March 2024 to review progress on youth-focused legislation and urge legislators to expedite the creation of a “Youth Basic Law.” Three days later, 34 of Taiwan’s legislators re-proposed the “Youth Basic Law” in the Legislative Yuan.  

Following WFD’s support, TYAD credits their success to two key strategies: engaging stakeholders across the political spectrum and creating direct dialogue opportunities like the Youth Forum. These approaches enabled meaningful policy conversations between young people and senior political figures. Most significantly, William Lai, who won the 2024 presidential election, committed to prioritising youth issues—a breakthrough that opens new doors for organisations like TYAD to mainstream young voices in Taiwanese politics. This heightened focus on youth-focused policies represents a turning point, creating fresh opportunities for youth groups to expand representation and ensure young people's perspectives shape Taiwan's future.

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