Can Taiwan's KMT stay relevant with long-shot bid to unseat island's leader William Lai?
Taiwan's main opposition party, the
Kuomintang (KMT), has launched a push to unseat Taiwanese leader
William Lai Ching-te in what analysts characterised as a desperate bid to reverse its deepening crisis amid a sweeping recall campaign targeting its lawmakers.
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Over the past several weeks, the Beijing-friendly KMT has seen a surge in recall petitions led by pro-Lai supporters, targeting its 35 district-elected legislators. At the same time, dozens of local KMT officials have been arrested for allegedly forging documents in counter-recall efforts against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.
Prosecutors also raided KMT local chapter headquarters across the island – from Taipei and New Taipei to Keelung, Yilan, Taichung and Tainan – seizing stacks of documents that could be used in future legal proceedings.
Legislators from the KMT and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) – who together have held a narrow legislative majority – have faced mounting criticism from Taiwan-centric civic groups for obstructing the Lai administration.
Lai's team has repeatedly accused the opposition coalition of weaponising
legislative tools to slash government budgets and expand parliamentary powers. The moves have sparked not only domestic disapproval but also drawn concern from the United States and its allies, who have described the tactics as unreasonable and disruptive.
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As the opposition has become increasingly embattled, many have questioned whether Taiwan still has a functioning opposition capable of holding the executive to account.
In one of his boldest political moves, the KMT's chairman, Eric Chu Li-luan, led a group of party officials and lawmakers in a protest outside the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on April 17, defying repeated police warnings. The demonstration followed the arrest of the leader of the KMT's Taipei chapter.
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