Citizen groups yesterday at a news conference in Taipei said that they are confident of recalling at least 12 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, including KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁), so they can “restore democracy back” to the Legislative Yuan.
Convened by the Taiwan Inspiration Association (TIA), the event gathered leading activists of four citizen groups from northern Taiwan and Hualien County who are campaigning for the recall votes, as well as members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to present their views to international media.
The TIA sent its main message to Beijing on a banner reading “Hands off! Taiwan’s Parliament is not China’s,” while holding placards reading “Grand Recall, Great Success.”
Photo: CNA
Chen Hsiao-wei (陳曉煒), a Presbyterian Church pastor in Taoyuan, said the citizen groups had assessed that they would able to oust a minimum of 12 KMT lawmakers in the recall votes on July 26 and Aug. 23.
“If we can recall at least 12 lawmakers, then the legislature can return to ‘normalcy’ and can function in the way it has in the past, but it is up to the public to decide the outcome of the upcoming recall votes,” said Chen, who is the initiator of the recall campaign against KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in Taoyuan.
Popular Taiwanese YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) said that Fu would be among those getting voted out of office on July 26.
“We are quite certain of it, we have 90 percent confidence that Fu would be ousted. It will be the end for Fu on July 26,” he said.
However, the fight must go on, because a by-election would be held for the vacant seat in Hualien County, he said.
“So we shall carry on the work, and must not allow another pro-China politician to get elected there, as all upcoming elections next year are very important to safeguard Taiwan’s democracy,” he added.
Cross-Strait Policy Association director Stephen Tan (譚耀南) said that the ongoing efforts for the recall votes has been a “political movement” through active participation by civil society groups.
“It is not a showdown between political parties, not the green camp versus the blue camp, and it is not about a vote of confidence for the ruling party,” he said. “It is about citizens in those electoral constituencies having the right to decide if their elected lawmaker or city mayor is suited to serve.”
“The situation is due to citizens having seen enough and wanting to make a change, to oust those KMT lawmakers who are cooperating with Beijing to create political turmoil and shut down the Constitutional Court, grabbing power to illegally expand their authority and slashing fiscal budgets with reckless abandon. So people can cast a ‘Yes’ ballot to remove them in the recall votes,” Tan said.
Law professor Carol Lin (林志潔) said that it is a new Taiwanese political movement, entirely initiated by citizens collecting signatures to start the petitions, then receiving support from other civil society groups and DPP members to push the campaigns on, which are now into their final mile, she said, urging people to vote “Yes” so “we can sustain Taiwan’s democracy, to ensure future generations still have the right to vote in elections.”
Meanwhile, the three main political parties are to decide today whether to extend the legislative session to the end of next month.
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) had convened a cross-party negotiation on the issue, but it failed to reach a consensus, with the TPP and the KMT wanting to extend the session to Aug. 31, and the DPP disagreeing.
KMT Legislator-at-large Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) said that with Taiwan facing uncertainty over US tariffs, with Washington not yet announcing the rate, the session needs to be extended.
“There could be changes and various factors involved that affect economic growth and the stability of government bodies, therefore the KMT supports extending the session to the end of next month,” Weng said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS