Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) yesterday denounced the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for asking people not to vote in a recall poll against Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), while National Police Agency Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) called on police to follow up on reports that gangsters are planning to intimidate voters.
Yen said that in an effort to save Han, the KMT has mobilized all of its members, who have increasingly tried to prevent Kaohsiung residents from exercising their right to vote in the poll on Saturday next week.
She called on Kaohsiung residents to have the courage to defend their right to vote, and for those who live elsewhere, but whose residence is registered in the city, to return home to cast their ballot.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“In the past several weeks, the Kaohsiung City Government has used its administrative authority to cause delays and impede preparatory work to hold the recall vote,” Yen said.
“Then there is KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), who has called on supporters to not vote and ‘monitor’ polling stations,” she said. “This is intended to intimidate voters into giving up their right to vote.”
“We want to ask Chiang, who taught political science: Is this a tactic to subvert democracy?” she added.
No organization can deprive people of the right to vote in elections and referendums, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, Yen said.
“The campaign to recall Han is a grassroots movement by civic groups and Kaohsiung residents, so it should be up to them to decide whether to out the mayor,” she said.
“All political parties, including the DPP, must respect that residents will make this decision through their ballots. Therefore, we urge everyone to vote and have the courage to uphold their rights,” she added.
Yen also rejected allegations by the KMT that central government agencies had provided assistance to recall campaign groups.
KMT officials earlier yesterday said that the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Justice, the Central Election Commission and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp, in which the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is the largest shareholder, had assisted the recall campaign groups.
Yen said that the KMT officials aim to stigmatize Kaohsiung residents by vilifying them for supporting the recall campaign, while also making baseless accusations to malign government agencies.
Aaron Yin (尹立), founder of the Wecare Kaohsiung coalition of civic groups spearheading the recall campaign, on Monday filed a judicial complaint asking for an investigation into Han supporters who allegedly distributed pamphlets slandering him and other leading figures in the movement.
More than 100,000 pamphlets were distributed to households in Kaohsiung saying that he and other leading figures in the movement had profited handsomely from numerous city contracts thanks to their good relationship with past DPP administrations in the city, Yin said.
Separately yesterday, Chen told Kaohsiung police officials that he had received reports that gangsters, allegedly in collaboration with Han supporters, plan to intimidate voters at polling stations.
“I have ordered Kaohsiung police to work with public prosecutors and investigate,” Chen said after the meeting.
“We will not tolerate activities that interfere with voting. I have ordered that immediate action be taken if there is any violence by gangsters at polling stations, as well as investigations into any disinformation related to the recall vote,” he said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS