Taiwan opposition survives recall vote, delivering blow to President Lai’s DPP

On Saturday, opposition legislators in Taiwan survived a massive recall poll, defeating a drive to remove one-fifth of the island’s MPs - a move supporters believed would send a message to China but opponents called an attack on democracy.

According to Taiwanese media’s live vote counts, all recall votes against 24 MPs from the major opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), were rejected. Civic groups launched a campaign that culminated in voting.

The election results would be a setback for President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party, which squandered an opportunity to restructure Taiwan’s legislature and reclaim its majority.

The government said the island’s largest-ever recall vote had faced “unprecedented” election interference by China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own - a claim Taiwan rejects.

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While Lai won last year’s presidential election, the DPP lost its legislative majority. The opposition has flexed its muscles since then to pass laws the government has opposed and impose budget cuts, complicating efforts to boost defence spending in particular.

KMT Chairman Eric Chu thanked Taiwan’s voters and called for Lai to apologise and reflect on his own governance.

“One should not lose the elections and then call for malicious recalls. One should not seek for one-party dominance and destroy democracy,” he told a press briefing in Taipei.

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“Most importantly, the people of Taiwan chose stability and chose a government that gets things done, rather than political infighting.”

The political drama comes as China ramps up a military and diplomatic pressure campaign against Taiwan to assert the territorial claims that Lai and his government reject. Lai has offered talks with Beijing many times but been rebuffed. It calls him a “separatist”.

The heated recall campaign has been closely watched by China, whose Taiwan Affairs Office and state media have repeatedly commented on the vote and used some of the same talking points as the KMT to lambast Lai, Reuters reported this week.

Taipei this week said Beijing was “clearly” trying to interfere in its democracy and it was up to Taiwan’s people to decide who should be removed from or stay in office.

Wu Szu-yao, secretary general of the DPP’s legislative caucus, said the party respected the voters’ decision with pleasure, adding that the result would only strengthen the DPP’s “anti-communist and pro-Taiwan” stance.

“This time we saw China was trying everything it could to intervene,” she told reporters at party headquarters in Taipei, pointing to Chinese military pressure and a disinformation campaign.

“We must be more vigilant against their possible malicious intentions toward Taiwan.”

The groups seeking the recalls have said theirs is an “anti-communist” movement, accusing the KMT of selling out Taiwan by sending lawmakers to China, not supporting defence spending and bringing chaos to parliament. The KMT rejects the accusations, denouncing Lai’s “dictatorship” and “green terror” - referring to the DPP’s party colour.

The KMT campaigned against what it called a “malicious” recall that failed to respect the result of last year’s parliamentary election, saying they have simply been keeping lines of communication open with Beijing and exercising legitimate oversight of Lai’s government.

Recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers will be held on August 23.