《时代》杂志：区域稳定取决于江启臣「权衡情势」的能力
▲江启臣获选《时代》百大「次世代领导人」。（图／取自TIME网站）
国民党主席江启臣自2020年3月7日上任以来，即将届满一周年，本月17日获美国《时代》杂志（TIME）评选为2021百大「明日之星」（2021 TIME100 NEXT），创国民党先例。《时代》更特别提及，区域稳定取决于江启臣权衡情势的能力。蓝营涉外人士解读，这是《时代》对于江启臣肩负区域安全的国际期待。《时代》指出，江启臣为亚洲最「老牌政党」国民党（KMT）有史以来最年轻的领导人，他知道改革台湾的国民党并非易事；在国民党连续两次遭遇惨败的情况下，他知道要带领党摆脱高龄化，并吸引新世代的选民。
《时代》认为，问题在于，国民党长期以来一直认为台湾和中国大陆是同属于一个国家，这一观念受到了北京的欢迎，但却与渴望开拓自己道路的台湾年轻人疏远。
《时代》表示，重新调整这个立场，对国民党的未来至关重要，但是，这有可能激怒日益鹰派的北京政府。北京政府一再誓言，一旦台湾宣布独立，将展开侵略行为，而美国售台湾军武，也可能卷入区域冲突。《时代》甚至认为，区域稳定取决于江启臣权衡情势，以及抑制来自国民党内民粹声音的能力。
最后，江启臣也告诉《时代》：「青年将成为我们党的主要决策者。」
时代杂志原文：
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.