On June 6, Kaohsiung residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of recalling Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and so he was removed from office. They showcased people’s rights in a democracy, once again placing Taiwan in the international spotlight.
The recall is shaking up the political landscape for the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and it is also a clear message from Taiwan to the world that it is determined to safeguard democratic values.
Global media coverage sheds light on why the recall campaign — which was launched by voters against a publicly elected local government leader who had been defeated in January’s presidential election — received attention from other countries.
For instance, a Wall Street Journal headline read: “Taiwan Voters Throw China-Friendly Mayor Out of Office” and described the recall as Taiwanese rejecting Beijing for the second time in five months.
Writing in a similar vein, a New York Times article with the headline “Voters in Taiwan Oust a Pro-China Mayor” said that the recall “appeared to reflect Taiwan’s hardening attitude toward China, which has been intensifying efforts to bring the island democracy under its control.”
International media cited many reasons for the recall election results, including that Han did not keep his promises to Kaohsiung residents when he threw his hat in the ring to run for president soon after winning the 2018 mayoral election.
Many more observations focused on why this KMT political superstar — who visited China’s Hong Kong Liaison Office and met with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) during a visit to the territory in March last year, and who unabashedly proposed that close exchanges with China would make Taiwan rich — fell from grace so quickly.
Slightly over a year-and-a-half ago, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) path to re-election looked uncertain after the DPP was dealt a major setback in the November 2018 nine-in-one elections.
It was in that very election that Han won the mayoral seat in Kaohsiung — a city that had been administered by the DPP for 20 years — and descended to Earth like the savior of the KMT.
Fervent support from the deep-blue camp intensified Han’s roundabout attempts to convince the party to make him their presidential nominee.
However, as the presidential election approached, Han’s support weakened and Tsai’s public image as a la taimei (辣台妹, “tough Taiwanese woman”) underscored the difference between their stances toward China.
When Tsai defeated Han by more than 2 million votes in the Jan. 11 presidential election, international society generally viewed the result as Taiwanese voters saying no to China.
When Han was nominated by the KMT as its presidential candidate in July last year, it was at the height of the Hong Kong protests against an extradition bill that was withdrawn in September.
Despite Hong Kongers’ unremitting opposition to Beijing’s control, Han failed to adjust his cross-strait position and was unwilling to go any further than offering an uncontroversial rejection of Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework.
Compared with Tsai, who began taking countermeasures against Beijing’s mounting pressure on Taiwan at the beginning of last year, the perception of Han as a pro-China figure and its endorser became even more obvious.
The record voter turnout for the presidential election probably had less to do with support for Tsai and more to do with a willingness to protect Taiwan from being sold down the river.
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) rule, Beijing has become less inclined to conceal its aggressive “wolf warrior-style” expansionist ambitions: The “one country, two systems” formula Xi proposed for Taiwan on Jan. 2 last year, and the demand that Hong Kong should amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance are solid proof that Beijing is paving the way for its expansion.
As Taiwanese saw Hong Kongers striving for basic democracy being violently suppressed, it was unavoidable that they would take the territory’s experience to heart and begin resisting China to protect Taiwan.
Now that China has become a global threat, the campaigns for the US’ November presidential election are focusing on comparing who is tougher on China — US President Donald Trump from the Republican Party or former US vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee.
It is no coincidence that Taiwanese politicians unwilling to cut the umbilical cord with China are being abandoned by mainstream public opinion.
Facing the recall campaign against Han, the KMT and Han’s camp originally thought that downplaying the recall election would reduce the turnout and keep votes below the required threshold.
KMT Institute of Revolutionary Practice director Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) even said that if 574,996 people — which was the legal threshold representing 25 percent of eligible Kaohsiung voters — could recall a mayor elected by 892,545 votes, “Taiwan’s democracy would be nothing more than a joke.”
As it turned out, nearly 940,000 votes were cast in favor of the recall, effectively putting a sock in it.
Deep-blue political talk show host Jaw Shaw-kang (趙少康) called on the KMT to reflect on the defeat and to figure out why the recall vote surpassed the number of votes the DPP’s Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) received in 2018 by more than 190,000 ballots.
The answer to all the blue camp’s questions could be found in the train stations crowded with beipiao (北漂, “northern drifters”) returning home on the eve of the recall vote.
The recall election was not only a sanction imposed on Han for his failure to fulfill his commitment to Kaohsiung residents and his broken campaign promises, it was also the first time that a special municipality mayor has been recalled.
From election to recall, the process was undoubtedly another landmark step in the development of Taiwan’s democracy and a step away from Chinese authoritarian politics.
At this momentous democratic moment, Han told his supporters not to vote, but to monitor voting, while his supporters proposed taking photographs or filming people outside polling stations. By pressuring voters in this way, Han and his camp only made them more determined to vote.
This year, Taiwan has dazzled the international community with several impressive achievements. First, Taiwanese voters defeated the pro-China forces in the January presidential election, despite all sorts of interference from Beijing.
Second, Tsai’s administration chose not to believe China’s data and statements when dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, and successfully implemented disease prevention measures thanks to advance preparations.
On May 28, the Chinese National People’s Congress approved a plan to draw up national security legislation for Hong Kong, in preparation for taking control of the territory.
In the face of Beijing’s saber rattling, a broad consensus has formed in Taiwan that everyone should work hard to prevent the nation from ending up like Hong Kong.
A day before Han’s recall vote, China’s state-run People’s Daily published an article speaking up for Han, saying that “his administration’s performance is pretty good.”
By supporting Han and trying to direct the vote, the news report added fuel to Taiwan’s opposition to China. Saying no to China yet again was simply what needed to be done.
Translated by Chang Ho-ming
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