Citizen groups yesterday announced nationwide events to promote recall campaigns against 32 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, while more than 70 civic organizations said they would provide resources and staff to assist the movement.
Recall campaigners announced the plan, as part of efforts to reach the second-stage threshold, which requires signatures from at least 10 percent of voters.
In the coming weeks, groups would hold gatherings and lectures in key areas to inform voters about the recalls, the state of the legislature and what they can do to resist the agenda of opposition party lawmakers, speakers at the event in Taipei said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Much of the attention at the event focused on the recall of KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁), who represents a district in Hualien County.
“We must oust Fu, only then can we ensure a better future for Hualien residents and safeguard Taiwan’s democracy,” said a man identified only as “W,” who heads up the Shimmer Hualien group, dedicated to removing Fu.
W said the “Fu Dynasty” began with his election in 2001, and since then, he and his wife, Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚), have each served as legislator and commissioner to dominate Hualien politics for more than 20 years.
“Hualien residents have had enough of Fu,” W said.
“Fu is not the ‘King of Hualien,’ he is an elected servant, who should be working for the people. County residents must not be afraid of Fu’s intimidation and harassment tactics, or his deputies,” W said.
United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠), Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), who is cofounder of the Kuma Academy, and other prominent figures also attended the event.
On Tuesday, more than 70 civil society groups together formed a network of non-governmental organizations to support people in the recall movement, following reports that recall campaigners had faced harassment and acts of intimidation, and had been denied use of public spaces by local officials.
The group said they would assist with personnel and resources to aid signature drives in the electorate districts of legislators targeted for recall.
Humanistic Education Foundation executive director Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) said that the Ministry of Justice should establish a task force to monitor and crack down on efforts to interfere in recall drives.
“All recall drives are initiated by citizen groups, voters in their electorate district, but some KMT supporters are attempting to intimidate campaigners,” Feng said, adding that the personal information of some people leading recalls have been leaked.
“Lawyers have been assigned to help them, and if need be, represent them in legal matters concerning intimidation tactics and privacy contravention incidents,” she said.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu
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