Taiwan’s ongoing recall campaigns are a vital part of its democracy, yet they are marred by deliberate misinformation.
Wang Kai-chun (王鎧均), a foreign policy adviser for the office of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), recently appeared on the Taiwan Talks program, in which he claimed, without any basis, that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had initiated and is driving these recalls.
“It’s not hard for them to mobilize and encourage the people who used to vote for them to vote in this recall,” he said.
The assertion grossly misrepresents the true nature of these citizen-led efforts, suggesting a party machine behind what are genuinely organic movements.
As a viewer, I was infuriated by these baseless remarks, especially as no one on the program immediately disputed them. My frustration deepened after reading Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet’s Taipei Times piece (“Foreign press silent on mass recall wave,” July 12, page 8), in which he lamented the international media’s neglect of the recall movement.
As a fellow guest on the Taiwan Talks discussion, Oeuillet could only partially rebut the KMT’s falsehoods, which directly contradicted his reporting.
The KMT’s logic suggested recalling KMT Legislator Chiu Cheng-chun (邱鎮軍) in Miaoli County’s Second Electoral District should have been easy, given independent Tseng Wen-hsueh’s (曾玟學) 45 percent vote share in the last election. Both Miaoli recall campaigns, along with others in Changhua and Hsinchu counties, failed to meet the stringent 10 percent legal threshold for the second petition phase by the deadline.
This outcome starkly contradicted the KMT’s “easy mobilization” assertion. Recall movements in Taiwan historically face lower participation than regular elections. The Miaoli group’s struggles vividly illustrate the multifaceted challenges facing citizen-led initiatives.
Beyond common pressures like meeting petition benchmarks and meticulously compiling rolls, and the stringent review of signature accuracy and authenticity, the Miaoli group faced intense, often hostile opposition. This included legal actions against the recall group initiated by Chiu as retaliation, intimidation with violent acts like smashed cars and “burnouts,” as well as retaliatory recall against Tseng and two DPP councilors.
The external environment was overtly hostile: KMT supporters verbally abused volunteers, falsely accused them of being paid and even physically assaulted them. The internal dilemmas, like the lead petitioner’s health-related unavailability, local force infighting, leadership voids, inadequate planning and severe resource shortages further complicated matters.
Driven to expose the truth, I decided to share “British Ami’s Democracy Battlewagon”—a narrative that directly rebuts KMT’s rhetoric and highlights the authentic grassroots spirit and immense challenges of these efforts.
“British Ami” is Tsai Hui-yu (蔡惠玉), a UK-based tech entrepreneur originally from Yilan County. Staying with local friends in Miaoli, Ami volunteered for 12 consecutive days until the second phase’s end. She set up a small petition stall outside a tea shop, and also walked the streets, distributing flyers to encourage participation — a true testament to raw, unyielding grassroots activism.
One morning, Ami’s jeep, parked at the roadside with “Recall” sign and flag on display, was attacked and damaged. While police swiftly apprehended the perpetrator, the incident posed a significant psychological threat to the campaigns. Ami faced the media, explaining the vandalism and campaign’s difficulties, appealing for volunteers and resources. The media exposure boosted a crucial wave of petitions and rekindled hope.
Both recall petitions in Miaoli fell short, despite achieving more than 90 percent of the target signatures. The KMT’s disinformation, falsely portraying the recall campaigns as DPP-orchestrated, utterly failed to discredit the authentic backgrounds and tireless, unpaid efforts of these dedicated civic groups. Ami’s jeep, now the “Democracy Battlewagon,” was subsequently displayed at the Cinan Presbyterian Church (濟南長老教會), symbolizing the recall group’s relentless spirit and resilience.
Tseng Yueh-ying manages the Facebook page Translation Matters (翻譯有要緊), which serves as an active forum for discussions on language and Taiwanese politics.
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