Independent Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie (黃捷) yesterday weathered a recall vote to retain her councilor seat in Fongshan District (鳳山).
Kaohsiung City Election Commission data showed that 65,391 people voted against recalling her, while 55,261 voted in favor.
The voter turnout was 41.54 percent, the data showed.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
According to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), at least 25 percent of eligible voters, in this case 72,892 people, were required to vote in favor of a recall for it to pass.
Organizers of a campaign to recall Huang proposed the motion in June last year, on the grounds that she had shown no interest in Kaohsiung affairs and was therefore unfit to serve, campaign spokesperson Hsu Shang-hsien (徐尚賢) said.
While delivering a speech after the results were revealed, Huang was flanked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) and Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟), independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐), as well as other Kaohsiung city councilors from the DPP.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), in her capacity as DPP chairperson, had called on party members to support Huang.
Huang was in tears at first, momentarily unable to talk, and then began by thanking Fongshan residents for their support.
She also thanked DPP members and other politicians from the pan-green camp.
“We do not want hatred to spread in Taiwan. Fongshan people acted to stop this hatred, to end this retributive recall drive,” she said. “This is a victory for the forces of democracy ... and a victory for pro-Taiwan forces.”
Separately yesterday, DPP spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) said the recall result “indicates that Taiwanese detest retributive recalls spearheaded by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).”
“Such recall drives are a waste of resources and pervert our democratic system. They also obstruct the expression of diverse ... viewpoints in a maturing society and impede Taiwan’s progress,” she said.
KMT officials in Kaohsiung said that the recall motion failed because other political parties put too many resources into protecting Huang.
Huang officially entered politics in 2018, when she was elected to the Kaohsiung City Council as a New Power Party (NPP) member.
In August last year, she quit the NPP over what she described as “unfair voting rules in the party’s decisionmaking committee.”
Additional reporting by CNA
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS