Politics in Taiwan and South Korea have descended into chaos, resulting in tense standoffs, with one shared cause being the legislative majority wielded by the opposition parties in both countries.
Suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached by opposition lawmakers for attempting to implement martial law.
President William Lai (賴清德) has shown he is unwilling to break laws or contravene the Constitution, despite the disregard of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) for the document. Lai is showing a lot of tolerance for the opposition parties and expressed in his New Year’s speech a willingness to use “greater democracy” to resolve issues.
What did he mean by that? The only feasible recourse for voters is recalls and elections.
Last year, after the legislature passed three proposals in a power grab aimed at impeding the proper implementation of the Constitution and judicial system, civil society rose up, launching “mass recall” demonstrations and recall petition signature drives in an attempt to remove 27 KMT legislators. On Feb. 1, those legislators are to face formal recalls.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) holds 51 seats in the legislature, while the KMT has 52, plus two KMT-aligned independents. The TPP has eight legislators-at-large, who cannot be recalled.
If the KMT loses three seats, the dynamic in the legislature could shift significantly.
TPP Acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) essentially follows everything that KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) proposes, so the KMT-TPP opposition can be expected to continue meddling in Taiwan’s laws and institutions.
Overturning three KMT-held seats might not be enough: At least 11 KMT legislators would need to be recalled.
Mass recalls differ from individual recalls in that they seek to alter the wider political dynamic. In a sense, it matters little which lawmakers are targeted, as the entire KMT caucus acts en masse, toeing the party line. Fu is widely seen as the legislature’s most pro-Chinese Communist Party member and is considered to be carrying out the orders of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) and perhaps even Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). The rest of the KMT simply follows suit.
Considering the electoral base Fu and his wife have built in Hualien County, it would be difficult to recall him directly. That is why civic groups have repeatedly said that recalling any KMT legislator would essentially be as good as recalling Fu himself.
The DPP has proposed recalling Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), while DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) has urged the recall of 39 KMT legislators and the two KMT-affiliated lawmakers. It seems the situation is coming to a head, which is a good thing.
In a democratic system, voters must have the right of recall. Under the chorus of voices calling for it, some KMT politicians seem to be showing restraint, but the TPP legislators continue to act arrogantly, crying foul about their former chairman, Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), being detained over his alleged involvement in financial scandals. They also continue to make unfounded claims that prosecutors are colluding with the central government in charging Ko and have been demonstrating in support of him.
They know they can behave like this, as they are not vulnerable to recall as legislators-at-large. Voters can still teach them a lesson by recalling their KMT taskmasters.
Susie Su is a Taiwanese living in Australia.
Translated by Tim Smith
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