In 1972, Lee Huan was appointed as Director General of the Department of Organization for the Kuomintang (KMT) when Chiang Ching-kuo was premier. In 1976, Chiang Ching-kuo instructed Lee Huan to select several dozen young party leaders for the highest level cadre training program at the Institute of Revolutionary Practice. Among the 60 individuals chosen for the training, half were Taiwanese, including Lien Chan, Wu Po-hsiung, Shih Chi-yang. This opening of the KMT's cadre program was an unprecedented opening for native Taiwanese, and was an important step in Chiang Ching-kuo's program of loosening mainlander control of the KMT by integrating native Taiwanese into its leadership.