Feeling glad: Lawmakers of Taiwan’s Opposition Nationalist Party and party staff cheering after a press conference in Taipei. — AP
THE country’s opposition lawmakers have survived a major recall election, thwarting a bid to oust one-fifth of the island’s parliamentarians – a move supporters had hoped would send a message to China but that opponents called an assault on democracy.
All recall votes against 24 lawmakers from the largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, were rejected, according to live vote counts by Taiwanese media.
The voting followed a campaign begun by civic groups.
The election result is a blow to President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party, which has missed an opportunity to reshape the Taiwan legislature and regain 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.
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 one-party dominance and destroy democracy,” he told a press briefing in Taipei.
“Most importantly, the people of Taiwan chose stability and 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 its territorial claims. 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 lambaste Lai, Reuters reported.
The Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement yesterday that the voting results show that “the DPP’s political manipulation is completely contrary to the people’s will and is unpopular”. — Reuters
