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
In a meeting with Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste on Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) vowed to continue providing aid to Haiti. Taiwan supports Haiti with development in areas such as agriculture, healthcare and education through initiatives run by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). The nation it has established itself as a responsible, peaceful and innovative actor committed to global cooperation, Jean-Baptiste said. Testimonies such as this give Taiwan a voice in the global community, where it often goes unheard. Taiwan’s reception in Haiti also contrasts with how China has been perceived in countries in the region
The world has become less predictable, less rules-based, and more shaped by the impulses of strongmen and short-term dealmaking. Nowhere is this more consequential than in East Asia, where the fate of democratic Taiwan hinges on how global powers manage — or mismanage — tensions with an increasingly assertive China. The return of Donald Trump to the White House has deepened the global uncertainty, with his erratic, highly personalized foreign-policy approach unsettling allies and adversaries alike. Trump appears to treat foreign policy like a reality show. Yet, paradoxically, the global unpredictability may offer Taiwan unexpected deterrence. For China, the risk of provoking the
On April 13, I stood in Nanan (南安), a Bunun village in southern Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪), absorbing lessons from elders who spoke of the forest not as backdrop, but as living presence — relational, sacred and full of spirit. I was there with fellow international students from National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) participating in a field trip that would become one of the most powerful educational experiences of my life. Ten days later, a news report in the Taipei Times shattered the spell: “Formosan black bear shot and euthanized in Hualien” (April 23, page 2). A tagged bear, previously released
Young supporters of former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) were detained for posting the names and photographs of judges and prosecutors believed to be overseeing the Core Pacific City redevelopment corruption case. The supporters should be held responsible for their actions. As for Ko’s successor, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), he should reflect on whether his own comments are provocative and whether his statements might be misunderstood. Huang needs to apologize to the public and the judiciary. In the article, “Why does sorry seem to be the hardest word?” the late political commentator Nan Fang Shuo (南方朔) wrote
RSS