In its third term of occupying the Executive Yuan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has grown dull and lost the power to shape public discourse. The groups that initiated the mass recall movement appeared to be on track to a sweeping victory after getting 32 candidates on recall ballots. By the end of last week, all of the targeted candidates had survived.
By contrast, about 100 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) staff members have been detained or indicted for the forgery of signatures on recall petitions. None of the civil society groups have been accused of such behavior.
Meanwhile, the KMT exhausted funds meant for the next major election to combat the recalls, further draining its strength. What comes next remains uncertain.
The total loss in the mass recall’s final stage was likely a result of issues in language and messaging. The defeat came because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party camps were backed by professional “united front” units, while the DPP side expected to gain support from volunteers — an inferior plan.
What is more is that there has been no ban on Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote) or Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), nor did the DPP deploy any core force to counter the “united front” work. The entirety of society is seemingly defenseless against disinformation, and young people have been completely brainwashed. Given the circumstances, it would have been strange if the recall movement had not failed.
The DPP still does not understand the new media culture war, nor how to deal with it. It is time for the party to wake up and take a look at the online discourse surrounding elections, which has overwhelmingly become a platform for the CCP’s “united front” efforts.
From the smearing of then-minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) during the COVID-19 pandemic to now, nothing has changed. If the DPP does not change course, it would continue to face defeats.
Throughout the recall movement, the outstanding performance of civil society groups and volunteers far surpassed that of the DPP. Unyielding, they moved from the streets to the Internet, bringing the recall initiative to the online battlefield. Citizens used short voice clips, Facebook and YouTube comment sections, to counter the smears, insults and curses of Chinese actors, online trolls and bots, attempting to reclaim their voice and restore balance to the online ecosystem. The public’s spirit is still alive and well — what is concerning is that the ruling party could cause it to die.
Mike Chang is an accountant.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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