Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) yesterday survived a recall election in Taipei’s fifth electoral district after the tally of votes in favor of the recall fell short of the required threshold.
With 235,024 people eligible to vote yesterday, Lim would have been ousted if one-quarter of them, or 58,756, had backed the recall motion and if more voters were in favor of the recall than against it.
In the end, 54,813 voters supported the recall initiative, or about 56 percent, while 43,340 opposed it, according to unofficial Taipei City Election Commission figures for all 218 polling stations.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Voter turnout was 41.93 percent, not high enough to reach the number of votes needed to oust Lim from the Legislative Yuan.
The push for a recall followed a local COVID-19 outbreak that began in May, with Wanhua District (萬華), which Lim represents, at the center of the surge.
Lim was criticized for siding with the central government rather than his constituents when an official tried to absolve the central health authorities of responsibility for the outbreak by saying that it originated in Wanhua (萬華).
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Lim also took heat for appearing with central government officials at a Huannan Market (環南市場) news conference after an outbreak there and was accused of showing little concern for the market except at election time or for a photo op.
Lim, 45, was re-elected as an independent to a second legislative term in 2020 with 81,853 votes and a margin of victory of 3 percentage points.
As a New Power Party candidate in 2016, he won his first term as legislator with 82,650 votes and a margin of victory of 4 percentage points.
Before becoming a politician, he gained fame as the lead vocalist of the metal band Chthonic and was known as an advocate for Taiwanese independence.
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