A petition to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) has surpassed the estimated legal threshold for recognition of 300,000 signatures, a recall movement leader said on Friday.
Despite reaching the goal, the group would continue to collect signatures and build public support, We Care Kaohsiung founder Aaron Yin (尹立) said, adding that the work was essential to save the city from stagnation under Han’s leadership.
We Care Kaohsiung and its partners, including Citizens Mowing Action and the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, launched the petition at the end of June.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
According to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), recalling an elected official is a three-step process. Petitioners must submit a recall proposal bearing the signatures of 1 percent of voters within the original electoral district.
This is followed by the submission of a petition containing the signatures of 10 percent of the voters.
Finally, a poll must be held in which the official is recalled if at least 25 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in favor of recall and a simple majority prevails.
The groups estimated that based on Kaohsiung’s population of 2.28 million, the petition would require at least 228,000 signatures to gain legal credence, although they set a goal of 300,000 in case some signatures are declared invalid.
The law states that an elected official must serve one year before a recall proposal may be filed.
Yin said that petitioners could begin collecting signatures, as long as the petition is submitted on or after Dec. 25, when Han marks his first year in office.
Yin has said that he would ask the Central Election Commission to issue a legal interpretation to resolve the matter.
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
Garbage and recycling schedules are to vary from Saturday through Sunday next week over the Lunar New Year holiday period. The following collection information is from the governments of the six special municipalities. Taipei Regular service: Sunday to Monday next week. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Extra service: Friday next week. Regular service resumes: Saturday next week. New Taipei City Extra service: Sunday. Adjusted collection time: Monday next week — garbage collection is to begin in the morning and end at 6pm. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Regular service resumes: Friday next week. Note: Garbage can be dropped off at 70
Taiwan’s Li Yu-hsiang performs in the men’s singles figure skating short program at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. Li finished 24th with a score of 72.41 to advance to Saturday’s free skate portion of the event. He is the first Taiwanese to qualify for the free skate of men’s singles figure skating at the Olympics since David Liu in 1992.
A KFC branch in Kaohsiung may be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$200 million (US$1,907 and US$6.37 million), after a customer yesterday found an entire AAA battery inside an egg tart, the Kaohsiung Department of Health said today. The customer was about to microwave a box of egg tarts they had bought at the fast-food restaurant’s Nanzih (楠梓) branch when they checked the bottom and saw a dark shadow inside one of them, they said in a Threads post. The customer filmed themself taking the egg tart apart to reveal an entire AAA battery inside, which apparently showed signs of damage. Surveillance footage showed
RSS