The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union have teamed up with the Constitution 133 Alliance for its recall campaign against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), DPP officials said yesterday.
Constitution 133 Alliance, an alliance of civil groups dedicated to the recall of lawmakers they view as incompetent — especially those who prioritize partisan interests over those of the public — named itself in reference to Article 133 of the Constitution, which states that “a person elected may be recalled by their constituency.”
“The three sides have reached a tentative decision on the division of labor for the petition, with the DPP in charge of half of the required petitions, and the TSU and the alliance with 25 percent each,” said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), director of the DPP’s New Taipei City (新北市) chapter, on the sidelines of a party meeting.
Wu, of New Taipei City’s first electoral district, has been dubbed by media as a member of “[President] Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) corps.”
Recalling Wu, who is deemed by the alliance as incompetent for his consistent alignment with Ma despite public opinion, would first require the signatures of at least 2 percent of the total electorate in Wu’s district to propose the bid and the joint petition from another 13 percent of the total voters for the proposal to be legitimate.
After that, the recall proposal would require the support of at least one-half of the eligible voters in the constituency at the time of the original election.
The team hoped to collect the required signatures before the new legislative session begins on Sept. 17, but would likely withhold the submission until follow-up preparation is done because they have to collect another 13 percent within one month, Lo said.
The DPP would focus on securing signatures for now, said Ho Po-wen (何博文), director of the DPP’s Democracy Institute, adding that the party is launching a promotional campaign in the district for the signature drive.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a