3 days ago
Mass recall flops in Taiwan as ‘pro-Beijing' lawmakers survive vote to kick them out
Taiwan's main opposition lawmakers survived a major recall vote on Saturday, thwarting an effort to oust nearly a fifth of the island's parliament. All 24 lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) targeted in the vote retained their seats, dealing a blow to President Lai Ching-te's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which had hoped to reshape the legislature and regain a majority.
The recall effort, led by civic groups, was framed by its backers as a stand against 'pro-China' influence. But KMT officials and supporters denounced it as an attack on democracy.
Polls opened on Saturday morning across 24 electorates, where voters were asked whether they agreed to remove their local legislator and trigger a byelection — by evening, the Central Election Commission announced that all 24 recall attempts had failed to meet the required threshold.
Under Taiwanese law, a recall only succeeds if at least 25 per cent of eligible voters in the district vote in favour and those votes outnumber the votes against.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu thanked voters and called on President Lai to 'apologise and reflect' on what he called poor governance.
'One should not lose the elections and then call for malicious recalls. One should not seek one-party dominance and destroy democracy,' Chu said at a press briefing, news agency Reuters reported.
The DPP has accused Beijing of 'unprecedented' interference, including disinformation campaigns and pressure tactics, during what became the island's largest-ever recall attempt.
Wu Szu-yao, DPP legislative caucus secretary-general, said the party respected the result but warned of continued Chinese influence.
'This time we saw China was trying everything it could to intervene,' Wu said, citing disinformation and military pressure. 'We must be more vigilant.'
The roots of the recall lie in Taiwan's January 2024 elections, where voters elected DPP's Lai as president but gave the opposition control of the Legislative Yuan. In the months that followed, the KMT allied with the Taiwan People's Party and independents to block DPP-backed bills and pass controversial legislation — prompting accusations that the opposition was paralysing governance and tilting toward Beijing.
By May 2024, street protests erupted in Taipei, giving rise to the Bluebird movement — a civic campaign named after the road where demonstrators gathered. Many in the movement accused the KMT of pushing China's agenda, especially after KMT lawmakers were seen meeting with top Chinese Communist Party leaders during a visit to Beijing.
The recall campaign was closely watched by Beijing. Chinese state media echoed KMT talking points and criticised Lai, whom they call a 'separatist.'
The KMT rejected the charges, calling them part of the DPP's 'green terror' — a reference to the ruling party's signature colour — and maintained they are merely pursuing normal oversight and cross-strait dialogue.
Civic groups allied with the Bluebird movement began collecting petitions to recall dozens of opposition lawmakers. Though some KMT supporters launched retaliatory petitions against DPP legislators, only the 31 KMT-targeted recalls advanced to a vote — 24 of which were held Saturday. The rest are scheduled for August 23.
