Taiwan prepares for ‘Great Recall’ election targeting opposition
Taiwan is preparing for the largest recall election in its history, targeting 31 opposition lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) party in the Legislative Yuan. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by President Lai Ching-te, is pushing the recall amid claims of political gridlock caused by the KMT and its coalition with the Taiwan People’s Party. The recall votes will take place in two phases, with 24 districts voting in July and the rest in August. The political conflict between the DPP and KMT also reflects broader differences over Taiwan’s relationship with China. While the KMT recognizes “one China” and sees Taiwan as part of a greater Chinese legacy, the DPP asserts Taiwanese sovereignty as distinct and independent. Accusations of clandestine ties to the Chinese Communist party surface frequently, affecting members of both parties. Critics accuse the DPP of using the recall campaign as a political tool to weaken the opposition. protests led by KMT Chairman Eric Chu denounce the recall as a political farce. If accomplished, the DPP will gain greater legislative power and will need to quickly advance its policy agenda. Amid ongoing tensions with China, Taiwan continues to enhance its defense capabilities, uncertain of external military support.
Taiwan prepares for ‘Great Recall’ election targeting opposition lawmakers
Taiwan is preparing for the largest recall election in its history as the ruling party aims to oust dozens of opposition lawmakers from Parliament.
Supporters of the ruling left-wing Democratic Progressive Party are seeking to recall 31 members of the conservative opposition party, Kuomintang, in the Legislative Yuan.
Voters in 24 districts will decide on Saturday whether to keep or remove their representatives in the Yuan. The rest will be voted on in August.
President Lai Ching-te’s DPP government has complained for months about what it claims is political immobilization due to obstruction from the KMT, which controls the legislature.
The KMT regularly works in coalition with the Taiwan People’s Party, a small center-left faction, to block DPP proposals.
On Friday, the Yuan voted to shoot down all seven justice nominees nominated by Lai to the Constitutional Court. The president called the rejection, led by the KMT, “very regrettable and concerning.”
Taiwanese progressives are also accusing the KMT of being tied to China due to the two parties’ fundamental difference in views regarding China-Taiwan relations.
The KMT views Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China, as the sole legitimate heir of the prerevolutionary Chinese government. It recognizes both Taiwan and the mainland as “one China” but rejects any attempts to reconcile the two sides of the strait under Communist Party rule.
The DPP, by contrast, views Taiwan as already independent of the mainland. It rejects the idea of continuity from prerevolutionary China and views Taiwanese sovereignty as solely derived from the sovereign will of the people.
Clandestine ties to the Chinese Communist Party are a perennial accusation in Taiwanese politics, where the omnipresent threat of an invasion from the mainland hangs heavy over the national zeitgeist.
Such accusations are not without basis — members of both the KMT and the DPP have been arrested this year on allegations of working behind the scenes for Chinese communists. Suspects included legislative staffers, members of think tanks, and other political professionals.
Critics of the DPP accuse Lai and his party of using the recall election as a crude bludgeon to oust democratically elected opposition.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu headlined a protest against the recall on Friday in which he claimed the historic vote was a “political farce orchestrated by [President] Lai.”
“Let the government do its job, let Lai Ching-te reflect, let the legislature provide proper oversight, and let the people live their lives in peace,” Chu told KMT supporters at the rally.
If the progressives successfully unseat enough KMT members to gain an upper hand in the Yuan, they will need to act quickly on their policy initiatives.
TAIWAN POLITICAL PARTIES HIT WITH WIDESPREAD CHARGES OF CHINESE ESPIONAGE
Taiwan’s by-elections are scheduled for late August, with some voters heading back to the polls less than a month after the recall in their constituencies.
Taiwan continues to bolster its defensive capabilities against a hypothetical invasion from the mainland, no longer entirely confident that the United States would be willing to militarily protect it against the Chinese military.
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