Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) has proposed amending the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) to make it more difficult to recall elected representatives. The record of recall motions over the past decade shows that there is a legitimate need for updating the law, but Hsu’s proposals are not the way to go about this.
Prior to 2016, successful recalls were as rare as hen’s teeth. In 2014, a well-organized recall campaign for three pan-blue camp legislators reached the third phase of voting, the first time that had happened since 1994, but it ultimately failed due to the stringent requirements. After the thresholds were reduced in 2016, it became much easier to initiate a recall, and for the recall to be successful.
In 2017, then-New Power Party executive chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), now the leader of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislative caucus, faced a recall over his stance on marriage equality legislation. Although it was unsuccessful, the recall should never have got as far as it did. Huang had only acted in line with the position on which he had campaigned, and which was in line with a constitutional interpretation on the issue.
In June 2020, then-Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was recalled, having tested the patience of city residents with long absences while he campaigned for president. That recall was justified. The retributive recalls that followed were not.
Days after Han’s recall, the New Party announced it would launch a recall of then-Taiwan Statebuilding Party legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟). Chen was recalled in October 2021. Former Taoyuan city councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇) of the Democratic Progressive Party was recalled in January 2021, just a month before then-independent Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie (黃捷) faced her own recall vote. Her only sin was that she was perceived to have somehow contributed to Han’s downfall. She survived the vote. Next up was then-independent legislator Freddie Lim (林昶佐), whose recall failed on Jan 9. 2022.
Han was recalled for legitimate reasons, Wang had arguably underperformed in his role. The reasons for seeking the recall of Huang Kuo-chang, Chen, Huang Jie and Lim were either unjustified, spiteful or purely political.
KMT and TPP legislators have been wreaking chaos in the legislature since the beginning of the new session in May, and are looking for ways to contain the possible damage their actions have caused to their performance ratings. Many voters are angry at their behavior, especially the young supporters of the TPP who had hoped the party would usher in a new era of more rational, less explicitly partisan politics.
KMT-affiliated Keeling Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) is also facing a recall motion. How much of a coincidence is it that the KMT’s Hsu is now proposing raising the threshold?
It is important that the electorate have a mechanism for recalling elected officials, but there must be a balance between access to it and the prevention of its abuse. Recalls should not be wielded by disgruntled voters seeking to remove a legislator they did not vote for or who they disagree with, neither should the system be open to abuse by parties to weaponize it for political reasons. Politicians must be free to act according to their convictions, without worrying that frivolous recalls would be brought against them.
Hsu’s proposed amendments would raise the threshold of the number of voters and the percentages of those for and against the recall at the voting stage. However, this is not a numbers game. Amendments should be aimed at ensuring the reasons for the recall are backed up by concrete evidence of wrongdoing or dereliction of duty.
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