In the wake of last month’s presidential election, the campaign to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) has picked up speed.
From a democratic perspective, the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) gives residents the right to recall their mayor, allowing voters who regret their choice at the ballot box the opportunity to dissolve the contract.
The outcome of a recall procedure is decided by city residents in a vote.
To date, no campaign to recall a county commissioner or a mayor of a city or special municipality has been successful. If Kaohsiung residents vote to recall Han, they will create a political milestone that is certain to become the envy of Hong Kong residents and Chinese citizens alike.
Why should Han be recalled? There are several reasons:
Some people feel that he deceived them and they did not understand that he was a country bumpkin. Others feel that there was no way he could fulfill the election promises of his mayoral campaign. Yet others feel that his entry into the presidential race only a few months after being elected mayor showed a lack of sincerity, while others say that he likes China more than Taiwan.
Some people reportedly want to recall Han because he gave NT$6 million (US$197,811 at the current exchange rate) to a woman surnamed Wang (王) who lived in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊).
There are many reasons.
All of these seem to make sense, but none are the top reason he should be recalled, which is because he has no idea what it means to be a mayor — he does not even know what a mayor does.
Anyone who has served as a mayor understands that the residents of their city look to them as a benevolent, parent-like official, and the mayor looks on residents as members of their own family. A mayor does all in their power to care for the residents, which means that it is a 24-7 job, allowing no rest or time off.
Han looks at his mayorship as a nine-to-five job, and even says that weekends and after he leaves work in the evenings is his time off.
This approach raises several questions: When there is a risk of a dengue fever epidemic, do mosquitoes follow a five-day workweek? Does the city government never arrange weekend activities? Are there no weddings, funerals or anniversaries that a mayor has to attend?
How could someone who does not even understand the responsibilities of a mayor be qualified to serve as one?
It is not strange that the efficiency of the Kaohsiung administration declines when the mayor “goofs around as much as possible and milks his job for all its worth,” as he encouraged civil servants to do in connection to the central government’s pension reforms two years ago.
This is why the right reason to recall Han is that he does not know what it means to be a mayor.
After Han returned to Kaohsiung, the media have kept close tabs on when he arrives at work and leaves, as if clocking in on time is a major achievement. This brings shame on the position of mayor, and holding other mayors and county commissioners to the same standard would be absurd.
Twu Shiing-jer is a former Chiayi City mayor.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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