More than 450,000 signatures have been collected for the second-phase petition of a campaign to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), with that number expected to surpass 500,000 by the middle of next month, Wecare Kaohsiung founder Aaron Yin (尹立) said yesterday, urging Han to “know when to quit.”
The recall petition organizers are “very close” to reaching their goal of 480,000 signatures, and the signatures include about 100,000 that were collected by Citizens Mowing Action, he said.
Organizers expect to have more than 500,000 signatures by the time they are to submit the second-phase petition papers to the Central Election Commission in the middle of next month, he said.
Photo: Huang Hsu-lei, Taipei Times
That they have been able to continue to collect signatures is an expression of the “collective will” of Kaohsiung’s residents, he said.
Despite a shortage of funds and resources, organizers would “fight to the end,” and they hope Taiwanese would support this “proud moment in the history of democracy,” he added.
The Civil Servants Election And Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) permits political donations to election campaigns, but there are no such rules to aid recalls, Yin said.
He has consulted a lawyer about ways the campaign can attract more resources, he said.
Under the act, a review of a recall petition’s signatures must be completed within 40 days of their submission, and if deemed sufficient, a recall vote must be held 20 to 60 days later.
The threshold for the second stage of the recall bid is set at 10 percent of a city or county’s population, or about 228,000 in Kaohsiung’s case, while a formal recall would require at least 580,000 votes, or one-fourth of eligible voters in Kaohsiung in the final stage.
Asked about Yin’s comments, Kaohsiung Information Bureau Director-General Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) said that city government colleagues are focused on running the city, including efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, and promoting bilingual education and agricultural products.
The January elections are over, while the COVID-19 outbreak is still changing, he said.
Instead of pursuing political goals, the city government is working for its residents every day, he added.
Meanwhile, former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who is running in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) chairperson election, said in a livestreamed interview that Han is “a very important asset and the pride of the KMT,” and that the party should rely on him.
Hau said he has “100 percent confidence” in Han’s ability to govern, and the next KMT chairperson should work closely with Han and help him avoid being recalled.
The KMT should cherish Han’s accomplishments in Kaohsiung and help him win the approval of the city’s residents, Hau said.
“Without Han Kuo-yu, the KMT could not have accomplished what it has,” he said.
In addition, those who voted for Han [in the Jan. 11 presidential election] are people who identify with the KMT, so the KMT should do a good job of internal reforms to repay them, Hau said.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS