The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids.
Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats.
The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23.
Photo: CNA
For a lawmaker to lose their seat, the number of votes in favor of recalling them must exceed those against, and must be more than 25 percent of the total number of registered voters in the electorate.
Recall votes against suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), formerly a member of the TPP, as well as all 24 KMT lawmakers failed to pass, with most losing by sizeable margins, Central Election Commission (CEC) figures showed.
In Taipei, people lined up in school hallways and temples. Agence France-Presse saw an elderly man arrive at an elementary school in an ambulance, which had brought him from a hospital so he could vote.
Photo: CNA
Public opinion had been divided over the recalls, which have dominated newspaper headlines and social media feeds for months.
“I am not satisfied with their job performance,” retired doctor Jeremy Chen, 54, said, adding that he was “also worried about the pro-China stance of some lawmakers.”
However, a 46-year-old man surnamed Lee said the lawmakers had not “committed any crimes” and that the DPP wanted to control the legislature for “its one-party dominance.”
Source: CEC
“That is not democracy,” Lee said after voting against the recall.
If next month’s recall votes also fail, the outcome would signal that the Lai government could continue to face strong resistance from within the legislature before the next legislative elections, which are expected to take place in 2028.
Political analyst Lev Nachman said that whatever the outcome, political divisions in Taiwan were certain to deepen.
Source: CEC
“The way that the recalls have played out have been perhaps some of the most divisive language used toward both camps that I think I’ve ever seen,” Nachman said.
Over the past few months, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) has compared Lai’s government to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, while Lai, who is the DPP chairman, has spoken of “removing impurities” to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Beijing has loomed large over the recall vote, with Taipei warning of “visible evidence” that China was trying to interfere in the process.
The KMT’s ties with Beijing and frequent visits by its lawmakers to China have raised concerns among critics over Chinese influence on the party.
However, the KMT has rejected accusations that it is beholden to Beijing, and insists that dialogue with China is needed to ensure peace.
Meanwhile, Kao’s survival yesterday means that the DPP would not be able to take hold of the city.
Had the recall succeeded, the Cabinet would have appointed an acting mayor, because Kao has less than half of her four-year term remaining, which would have allowed the central government to take control of the city’s administration.
“Because of you, I feel that I am definitely not alone,” Kao said at a post-vote news conference.
Kao is appealing a sentence of seven years and four months, after she was found guilty of corruption in July last year.
She was suspended as Hsinchu mayor soon after.
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