Tens of thousands rally in Taipei to back recall of KMT lawmakers

Taipei, April 19 (CNA) Activists opposing China's political influence held a rally in Taipei on Saturday to call on people to stand against lawmakers from the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) and support ongoing recall campaigns targeting them.

The rally, titled "Reject United Front, Defend Taiwan," was organized by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and the "anti-communist, safeguard Taiwan volunteers alliance" -- a group supporting recall efforts across Taiwan targeting KMT lawmakers.

Running from 2-7 p.m., the event drew an estimated 55,000 people to Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, according to the organizers.

"With 2027 widely seen as the most likely year for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, is there any time left for us?" Pa Chiung said.

"As the clock is ticking, shouldn't we act now to recall lawmakers who are seen as pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and are weakening both our national defense and social unity?" he said, arguing that the KMT is "beyond saving."

Pa Chiung said Taiwan's true threat lies within the Legislature, contending that the country must first eliminate collaborators of the CCP to "stand a better chance of resisting a Chinese invasion."

Among those who took the stage to deliver remarks were legislators from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and volunteers involved in recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers across Taiwan.

Meanwhile, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) criticized the DPP for abusing judicial power to target opposition parties, while attempting to remove KMT lawmakers through large-scale recall campaigns, during an event in Taitung County early Saturday.

"If you're not raising your voice now, then one day, when democracy is gone and fairness and justice no longer exist in Taiwan ... that will be the moment our Taiwan falls into its darkest hour," Chu said.

Shouting the slogan "Oppose Malicious Recalls, Fight Dictatorship," he called on people in the southeastern county to join a rally scheduled for next Saturday, also on Ketagalan Boulevard.

Chu also urged Taitung voters to cast a "no" vote in the recall against Huang Chien-pin (黃建賓), a KMT legislator representing the county.

Huang's support for an opposition-proposed amendment to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures would bring Taitung an extra NT$13.4 billion (US$411.55 million) in annual funding, Chu said.

The group seeking to recall Huang announced Tuesday that the second-stage signature drive had reached the legal threshold of 11,534 signatures.

Under Taiwan's recall mechanism, campaigners have to get the signatures of at least 10 percent of eligible voters in a constituency in the second stage of the process after having gotten the 1 percent necessary in the first stage for recall votes to be held.

The actual recall vote must be held within 20 to 60 days after the Central Election Commission confirms that the 10 percent threshold was met.

A recall is considered successful if the number of valid votes in favor exceeds those against, and the number of votes in favor reaches at least one-fourth of all eligible voters in the original constituency.

To date, only three elected officials have been recalled -- former Kaohsiung mayor and current Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the KMT in 2020, DPP-backed Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) in 2021, and DPP Taoyuan City Councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇).