A second wave of recall petitions against 12 more Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators were yesterday submitted to the Central Election Commission (CEC), bringing the total to 31.
Those in yesterday’s submission included Taipei KMT legislators Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) and Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), as well as New Taipei City KMT legislators Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷), Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才), Liao Hsien-hsiang (廖先翔), Chang Chih-lun (張智倫) and Lin Te-fu (林德福).
“This is our final stand in the battle to defend Taiwan’s democracy. If we fail, then Taiwan would be swallowed up by China,” United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠) said at a news conference outside the CEC in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
Tsao, spokesman for the Safeguard Taiwan, Anti-Communist Volunteers Alliance, is heading the recall movement.
This “big nationwide recall movement” is not about hatred against some legislators nor about helping the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to take back a majority in the legislature, he said.
“It is because people can see clearly KMT and Taiwan People’s Party lawmakers are taking instructions from KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁), who takes orders from Chinese government leaders in Beijing,” Tsao said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The campaigners said that they had also garnered sufficient signatures in other constituencies and are planning to submit more petitions to the CEC later this week.
Meanwhile, the KMT has begun to retaliate, gathering recall signatures as it targets DPP legislators.
CEC officials said as of yesterday the CEC had received motions to recall 13 DPP lawmakers, including Taipei DPP legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶), as well as New Taipei City DPP legislators Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) and Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), and Taichung DPP legislators Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純).
The other DPP legislators facing recall votes are Huang Jie (黃捷) and Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) of Kaohsiung, Yilan Couty’s Chen Chun-yu (陳俊宇), and the two representing indigenous people, Chen Ying (陳瑩) and Saidhai Tahovecahe.
Separately, Hualien County Councilor Hu Jen-shun (胡仁順) of the DPP said he had requested an investigation and provided evidence to the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation about the alleged harassment of people who signed the petition to recall Fu by officials from the Hualien County Government.
The Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that it was investigating alleged visits to the home addresses of residents who signed the petition to recall Fu by officials from the Hualien County Household Registration Office.
Hu said that the Hualien County Government should not have access to the personal information of people participating in a recall effort as it is a contravention of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
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