Voters in Taichung yesterday recalled Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟), making him the first legislator in the nation’s history to lose a recall election.
A total of 77,899 votes were cast to recall Chen, while 73,433 voted against, the Taichung City Election Commission said, adding that 51.72 percent of the city’s second electoral district turned out.
The Central Election Commission is to confirm the final figures within the next seven days, it said.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
Commission data showed that there are 294,976 eligible voters in the second district, comprised of Dadu (大肚), Shalu (沙鹿), Longjing (龍井), Wufong (霧峰) and Wurih (烏日) districts.
Chen won the seat in January last year in an election against then-incumbent Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒), a member of a powerful political family in Taichung and the son of former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標).
Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), 25 percent of eligible voters — 73,744 for the second district — must vote in favor of a recall to meet a threshold for an election to be valid.
Photo: CNA
A by-election is to be held within three months to fill the legislative seat, the commission said.
After the outcome was announced, Chen thanked supporters gathered at his Taichung campaign headquarters, where he led other Taiwan Statebuilding Party officials and staff in a bow.
Chen said that it was not a total defeat, as “I had won last time, and had gained the working experience as a legislator for one year and nine months. Through this recall campaign, our party has also grown up. We are a small party, and it was hard to mobilize initially. Now our party has matured.”
Photo: CNA
Referring to the 73,433 votes against the recall, Chen said that “we did not lose this battle,” as that number was quite close to the threshold.
“It means that through the past year and nine months that I served in the legislature, we gained the support of 73,433 local residents who identify with and approve of my work,” he said.
Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Chen Yi-chi (陳奕齊) said Chen Po-wei was attacked by the combined forces of the Yen family, the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party.
“Despite the result, our party has not been knocked out, and we will work hard to safeguard Taiwan’s democracy,” he said.
Liu Kang-yen (劉康彥), spokesman for the Democratic Progressive Party, which supported Chen Po-wei in the recall, said the KMT should refrain from pursuing more “revenge recall” elections.
Yang Wen-yuan (楊文元), who initiated the recall election, claimed he voted for Chen Po-wei in January last year, but later regretted it.
“This is the most glorious moment for Taichung’s second electoral district,” Yang said. “It shows that Taiwan’s democracy has made progress, and it also serves as a warning to all elected politicians not to forget their pledges to voters.”
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that Chen Po-wei’s support for lifting an import ban on pork containing ractopamine was among the reasons voters sought “to oust an arrogant legislator.”
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton