Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes.
Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23.
The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity Party (formerly known as the Taiwan Solidarity Union).
Photo: CNA
“We must mobilize all our citizens to vote ‘yes’ in the recall, no matter if you are in the pro-independence camp or a believer in the Republic of China,” Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation chairwoman Chen Li-hsiu (陳秀麗) said.
“As long as you are a Taiwanese citizen wanting to safeguard freedom and democracy, you must stand up to reject China’s plans to take over Taiwan, as opposition lawmakers are plotting to do,” she added.
The motorcade started at the Legislative Yuan and wound through downtown Taipei before heading to a concert in Daan District (大安).
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Earlier in the day, civil groups involved in recall campaigns held a news conference to dispel criticism that they are affiliated with any political party, saying they only seek to protect Taiwan’s democracy.
Pastor Huang Chun-sheng (黃春生) of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan said that from last year’s “Bluebird movement” to the current mass recall movement, “we have only seen proactive efforts initiated by citizens themselves.”
Huang condemned the KMT for calling the citizen groups “auxiliary wings” of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Photo: CNA
“Both the pan-blue and pan-green camps are constantly monitoring us. If they must tag the label on us, then we are the ‘auxiliary wings’ of democracy,” Huang said.
In the evening, supporters of the recall vote braved heavy rain to rally on Ketagalan Boulevard.
Organizers estimated that 50,000 people were in attendance.
Addressing the crowd, actor Akio Chen (陳慕義) highlighted three events from the past year that he said solidified people’s sense of being Taiwanese: victory in last year’s Premier12 baseball championship, President William Lai (賴清德) declaring China to be a foreign hostile force and the campaign to recall “Chinese accomplices” from the legislature.
The KMT plans to hold a rally against the recall votes on Ketagalan Boulevard tonight.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and other officials are slated to attend, it added.
Kao, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Internet influencer Holger Chen (陳之漢) are also expected to be there.
Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday continued final preparations for tomorrow’s vote.
The commission said that 5,947 polling stations are to be set up in nine counties and cities.
Voters are advised to check the locations of the polling stations on the official recall vote Web site (polling.cec.gov.tw/index.html), Google Maps or at their district offices, it said.
The official results are to be announced on Friday next week, it added.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office invited the National Police Agency, the CEC and other investigative units to work together on a special project to probe vote-buying and prevent violence during the recall vote, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) told a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, adding that their efforts are ongoing.
Tomorrow, 15,000 police officers and 6,000 volunteers are to be mobilized to maintain order, police said.
Citizens using their votes to decide on the future of the legislature could safeguard human rights, democracy and the legal system in Taiwan, Liu said.
She said she hopes the vote would be peaceful and that people demonstrate their democratic literacy.
Additional reporting by Kayleigh Madjar and CNA
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