The mass recall movement has been a grueling process: Petition gatherers, who are volunteers, are frequently turned away, often humiliated and even abused by those who disagree with them. Even people who share their stance cannot help but harbor doubts, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) treats them with contempt and mocks the movement in countless ways.
Despite all that, in a matter of months, Taiwanese have demonstrated the sheer power of civic engagement, evolving from an underdog to a surging force. As of yesterday, 30 groups had submitted the required number of signatures for the second phase of the movement to recall KMT legislators. One of the failed petitions was against KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) of Hsinchu County. Of the 19,521 petition forms submitted to the Hsinchu County Election Commission, the last 2,000 had no list attached. As a result, the commission disqualified them. As the petition failed due to a technical issue, the battle should not be considered completely lost. Hsu narrowly escaped due to a bureaucratic decision by the commission.
There are several high-profile figures among those whose petitions have met the second-stage threshold, including Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) and Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) of Taipei, and even KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) — which had been viewed as an “impossible” task — exceeded the required number of signatures by large margins. In central Taiwan, petitions targeting lawmakers in KMT strongholds, such as Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆) and Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), were submitted successfully. The public’s will has transcended the traditional lines dividing the pan-blue and pan-green camps, breaking through the domains of local factions.
Meanwhile, the US’ global strategic goals have become increasingly clear. US President Donald Trump launched a major tariff war as a means of disguising his true intention — to target China. As of last week, the UK became the first to sign a tariff deal with the US, and both sides included clauses designed to keep China out of supply chains. With this, Trump revealed that the key to his overarching strategy lies in countering China.
Taiwan, as a key geopolitical hub, would play a crucial role in achieving this goal. As such, whether the public’s will can remain steadfast in resisting the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence is of vital importance. The success of the mass recall movement sends a clear message to the Trump administration and the international community — Taiwanese share an unwavering resolve to resist the CCP. This level of determination has proved enough for the US and Japan to recognize that “if Taiwan has a problem,” they do as well.
With such affirmations, everyone participating in the mass recall movement is making valuable contributions to promoting Taiwan’s increased security and elevating its international standing.
After recall votes are held, by-elections are to follow, the outcomes of which would affect the distribution of legislative seats and potentially reshape Taiwan’s political landscape. There is a long road ahead, but for now, those involved must take a moment to encourage themselves. They should especially cheer on the volunteers from across the nation, who — despite widespread skepticism at the outset — with hard work and dedication, contributed their time and money to tirelessly gather petitions.
The volunteers deserve the utmost respect.
For everyone who signed a petition — you should be proud of yourselves, as well.
Tommy Lin is chairman of the Formosa Republican Association and director of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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