Both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are making their final pushes over the weekend and this week to rally support ahead of this Saturday’s recall vote.
Last night, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) held a rally in Taoyuan calling on attendees to “resist authoritarianism,” which featured appearances from party officials like Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and several others.
In Taoyuan, six KMT legislators are facing recall votes this Saturday, along with 18 others nationwide.
Photo: Taipei Times
At the event, Chu said that the KMT is the party of democratic values, opposing communism and maintaining cross-strait peace, while the DPP promotes Taiwanese independence and war.
Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who was also in attendance, said that the DPP uses the recall movement as a way to cover up its own failings.
Framing it as a vote on the future of the nation, Han said “we are at the edge of a cliff,” and that in order to prevent a further erosion of democracy and a return to one-party rule, the DPP must not succeed in its attempts to remove political opposition.
Separately, the conveners of the Taoyuan recall campaign held their own event yesterday where several internet celebrities, civil society leaders and DPP legislators appeared, calling on participants to protect the nation from the KMT.
In a news conference at the Legislative Yuan today, DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that the KMT and TPP have resorted to spreading lies and rumors at their recall rallies.
Wu criticized the KMT’s plan to distribute NT$10,000 (US$339.81) to citizens as well as statements by KMT officials taking aim at the DPP’s “zero-tolerance” stance on child abuse.
The DPP’s Department of Youth Development held an event today featuring 24 youth from the 24 recall districts set to vote on Saturday, calling on young people to return home to cast their ballots.
This comes after the department organized 18 events across 25 days as part of a “summer of breaking waves,” department deputy director Michelle Wu (吳奕柔) said.
One volunteer from Taoyuan said that the performance of the six lawmakers from the city was disappointing, asking for people to come and vote so that the city would no longer “be ashamed.”
In Washington DC, overseas Taiwanese also held a demonstration yesterday in front of the US Capitol building, calling on citizens to vote in the recall.
“It is necessary to replace the lawmakers with those we can trust,” one participant said, adding that some KMT lawmakers’ close relationship with China was a cause for concern.
Taiwanese Association of America president Chen Kuei-ling (陳桂鈴) said that US officials were also paying attention to the recall movement, and that results could influence US willingness to aid Taiwan in the future.
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