Robert Tsao urges President Lai to join him in recall campaigning

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) Tech mogul Robert Tsao (曹興誠), one of the initiators of recalls targeting opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers, on Thursday called on President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to join forces in the final stretch of the recall campaigning.

"I hope [he] will appear alongside us in campaign rallies," said Tsao, the founder of Taiwanese chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), in response to a reporter's question at a news conference in Taipei held one month ahead of recall votes.

Tsao said as recalls against 24 KMT lawmakers proceeded to public votes, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had the "obligation" and "responsibility" to actively join the campaign and then "reclaim control" of the Legislature.

The KMT's 24 lawmakers, including the party's legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) and caucus secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), will face recall votes deciding whether they remain in office on July 26.

Recall bids against seven other lawmakers are still under review by election authorities.

Tsao said the results of the votes would be consequential for Taiwan's democracy, warning that if the KMT lawmakers were not successfully ousted, they would return to the Legislature "reinvigorated."

Currently, the Legislature is controlled by the opposition, with the KMT holding 52 seats, the smaller Taiwan People's Party holding eight, and two independents generally aligned with the KMT.

The DPP, which Lai chairs, has 51 lawmakers in the 113-seat national legislative body.

The informal groups led by Tsao have characterized their efforts to recall 31 KMT lawmakers directly elected to the Legislature on Jan. 13, 2024, as a movement to "protect Taiwan" from Chinese Communist Party encroachment.

They have accused the opposition lawmakers of working for the interest of Beijing's ambition to absorb Taiwan by endorsing provisions in the Legislature that undermine Taiwan's constitutional order and weaken efforts to bolster defense capabilities.

Tsao denied that the recalls were a politically motivated campaign by the DPP to eliminate opposition views, stressing that the 31 recall groups around the country had demonstrated "formidable civic power" by collecting approximately 1.3 million signatures.

On Thursday, the recall groups also launched a new campaign push in cooperation with the DPP, featuring a 16-day nationwide canvassing tour on foot and by motorcade.

The tour will begin in Hualien on July 4, with the groups traveling clockwise around the island before ending with a rally outside the Legislature in Taipei on July 19.

Since last weekend, Lai has embarked on a series of public speeches, which, according to the Presidential Office, are unrelated to the recall campaign drive.

However, the president drew criticism from the opposition after comparing elections and recall votes to the process of tempering steel during his second talk and suggesting that political rivals are “impurities” to be “hammered out” in the effort to build "an iron will to defend sovereignty and protect democracy.”