The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union have teamed up with the Constitution 133 Alliance for its recall campaign against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), DPP officials said yesterday.
Constitution 133 Alliance, an alliance of civil groups dedicated to the recall of lawmakers they view as incompetent — especially those who prioritize partisan interests over those of the public — named itself in reference to Article 133 of the Constitution, which states that “a person elected may be recalled by their constituency.”
“The three sides have reached a tentative decision on the division of labor for the petition, with the DPP in charge of half of the required petitions, and the TSU and the alliance with 25 percent each,” said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), director of the DPP’s New Taipei City (新北市) chapter, on the sidelines of a party meeting.
Wu, of New Taipei City’s first electoral district, has been dubbed by media as a member of “[President] Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) corps.”
Recalling Wu, who is deemed by the alliance as incompetent for his consistent alignment with Ma despite public opinion, would first require the signatures of at least 2 percent of the total electorate in Wu’s district to propose the bid and the joint petition from another 13 percent of the total voters for the proposal to be legitimate.
After that, the recall proposal would require the support of at least one-half of the eligible voters in the constituency at the time of the original election.
The team hoped to collect the required signatures before the new legislative session begins on Sept. 17, but would likely withhold the submission until follow-up preparation is done because they have to collect another 13 percent within one month, Lo said.
The DPP would focus on securing signatures for now, said Ho Po-wen (何博文), director of the DPP’s Democracy Institute, adding that the party is launching a promotional campaign in the district for the signature drive.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese