Frequently Asked Questions
from North Americans
Below are some answers to “frequently asked questions”, to satisfy queries which are commonly asked from a North American perspective. These questions and answers are pitched to conservatives in Canada and the United States of America.
Has My Political Party Been Aware of the APDY?
The APDY is a new branch of the International Democrat Union (the IDU). The US Republican Party was active in founding the IDU, with President Reagan taking the lead alongside Margaret Thatcher. The Republican Party's relationship with the IDU has been maintained to the present day. For example, on Monday June 19 representatives of other IDU political parties met with Condi Rice, Governor Bush's Senior Foreign Policy Adviser in Washington DC. At the 2000 Republican National Convention, there was be a contingent of representatives from IDU parties and a smaller contingent from their respective youth wings. The Canadian Progressive Conservatives have also been active in the IDU.
Before we arranged the first meeting of the APDY in Fremantle, we faxed a couple of notices to Republican Party Headquarters in Washington DC and to the Canadian Progressive Conservatives. Subsequently, we have emailed our political allies in North America, and involved their youth wings directly.
Why is the Word "Democrat" in the APDY's Title?
Although our organisation has initially been titled the "Asia Pacific Democrat Youth", please do not be turned off by the use of the word "Democrat". Initially we chose this title because it was not dissimilar to the title of our parent organisation, the International Democrat Union. The word "Democrat" has of course acquired a very partisan meaning in North America which does not accord with the definition used in most other countries.
Currently the APDY is reconsidering the name of our organisation, because it does not clearly convey who we are and on what values we stand. One possibility is to use the word "Conservative" in the stead of "Democrat". Another option would be to use the word "Republican" instead of "Democrat", but this word would offend some of our member parties which have strong monarchist traditions (like the Australian Liberals, the New Zealand Nationals, the Japanese Liberal Democrats, etcetera). Another possibility is to adopt the name "Pacific Future", in line with the more pithy sounding title of the British "Conservative Future" (formerly Thatcher's Young Conservatives). The name of our organisation is certainly an issue that must be resolved. Please email us if you have a good idea.
Are There Any "Liberals" Involved In This?
We need to overcome any perception problems associated with party labels. The Conservative parties in Japan, Korea and Australia all use the word "Liberal" in their titles. One some issues, these parties can be more conservative than their North American counterparts (for example some of these conservative parties include groups of monarchist supporters). Small government policies, low taxation and free trade measures are stronger in several Asia Pacific nations than in North America. Pro-family policies, traditional values and social conservatism are stronger in many of these regional parties, than in their North American equivalents.
The term “Liberal” has two definitions in the political arena: first there is the original English definition which implies a conservative agenda of individual freedom coupled to individual responsibility; second there is a bastardised North American meaning which implies a big government agenda.
Why Is The APDY Interested in North Americans?
We are very keen to involve the North Americans for two reasons. Firstly, the US federation is a valuable source of policy ideas, with a diverse number of Conservative policy initiatives being tried at state and provincial level. Conservatives around the world are keen to learn from your experiments with education reform and welfare reform, especially since the recent success of US Republicans in Gubenatorial elections.
Our member parties are also keen to learn from America’s famous campaigning expertise. The USA has more elections per year than probably any other democracy, more professionalism and a longer democratic history than most countries.
What Are The Costs and Benefits For Member-Parties?
The costs are nothing. I should point out that one of our most important decisions in at our Foundation Meeting was to not charge annual membership fees. Being a member party therefore has no costs, only benefits. Countries only need to pay for direct benefits which they receive, such as when they send a delegate to a Convention (however even in this situation we will be seeking corporate sponsorship to defray costs for participants).
So what are the benefits? Traditionally, exchanges between related political parties have depended upon expensive international visits by very small numbers of individuals. By contrast, our organisation aims to use the internet to make the latest political ideas and expertise available to a wide number of party members - right down to the level of local branch members. This is why we are particularly eager to expand the number of training handbooks, country profiles and policy materials on the website. A priority for the current executive is to contribute to the expansion of our new website.
Please please take some time to examine our website. We would be most appreciative for any constructive criticism or suggestions. Very few party websites have much by the way of training material for members, so this is one area where we hope to help.
The Country Profiles on our website will also be useful briefing resources whenever members of your party are planning an overseas study trip. Whenever someone is travelling abroad, we can help them to meet other young political leaders from similar Conservative parties.
What Should My Party Do Next?
1. If you have further detailed questions, please email them, so that we can answer any outstanding queries.
2. Take the most important step: of officially signalling that you are happy to become active members of the APDY. The best way of staying in touch is to appoint a liaison person (usually called an “International Secretary”). The liaison person could adopt several responsibilities or aims, such as:
(a) encouraging Americans to travel abroad to meet like-minded parties;
(b) arranging meetings with any visiting party delegations; and
(c) contributing to the development of our website.