A petition to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) managed to garner the support of 2 percent of eligible voters in his constituency — Greater Taichung’s Nantun (南屯) and Shitun (西屯) districts — and received approval from the Central Election Commission on Monday.
The news brings Total Recall — a campaign to recall inept legislators in Greater Taichung — one step closer to launching a recall referendum with the goal of ousting Tsai.
The petition’s success followed on the heels of a landmark achievement by the Appendectomy Project — a similar campaign in Taipei with the goal of recalling KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) — which launched its official Recall Headquarters in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) on Sunday.
Total Recall organizers said that Tsai Chin-lung had failed the public through his track record of backing unpopular policies, including his support for nuclear energy, his endorsement of importing agricultural products from China, and his opposition to raising the minimum wage.
To initiate a referendum on Tsai’s fate, Total Recall requires the support of 13 percent of eligible voters — or nearly 40,000 signatories — for the second phase of the petition, from Saturday to Feb. 16.
Given that the petition’s second phase is more challenging with its high threshold and 30-day limit, the campaign has ramped up recruitment efforts for volunteers among Taichung residents, a member of Total Recall surnamed Chen said.
An Appendectomy Project spokesperson known as Mr Lin from Taipei (台北林先生) said that the project would share their experiences in Taipei with their fellow activists in Taichung.
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS