The Executive Yuan said that it would designate an acting mayor for Kaohsiung next week after Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was recalled in a vote yesterday.
Han has said he accepts the result of the recall election.
According to Article 91 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the Central Election Commission (CEC) should announce the results of the recall vote within seven days of it being held.
Photo: CNA
On the day the CEC officially announces Han’s removal from office, the Executive Yuan would announce the name of its appointed acting Kaohsiung mayor, Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) said.
There are more than two years until the next local elections.
However, according to the act, a mayoral by-election must be held within three months of the CEC’s announcement of the recall result, putting the by-election date on Sept. 12 at the latest.
Ting quoted Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as saying that all the people who cast their votes are on the same boat regardless of whether they voted for or against recalling Han.
What matters most is that everyone should show unity when developing Kaohsiung, which would be in the interests of city residents, Ting quoted Su as saying.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) said that the recall vote was an expression of a basic constitutional right.
The outcome of every vote is the most current manifestation of the public’s political will, she said, adding that every politician in the nation should be humbled by the outcome.
“The DPP will continue to stand together with the people of Kaohsiung, and work together with them to build a happy, prosperous city,” she said.
KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said that he “respected the outcome of the recall vote,” but denounced the DPP for allegedly manipulating the vote, adding that it would affect the development of Taiwan’s democracy.
Speaking at the KMT’s Kaohsiung office, Chiang expressed thanks for Kaohsiung residents’ past support for the KMT, but said he regretted that the party did not live up to city residents’ expectations.
The KMT would take responsibility for its failures in the city, and would work harder to meet residents’ hopes and demands, he said, adding that Han and other party members would meet to prepare for the by-election “and win back the city’s trust.”
The New Power Party on Facebook called the recall vote a “victory for Taiwan’s democracy.”
The outcome reaffirmed that in a democratic nation, citizens are the masters and politicians must humbly serve the people, it wrote, adding that it would continue to supervise politicians in Kaohsiung.
“These 530 days that Han was in office prove that his political statements were all lies,” it wrote. “The dream of becoming rich he gave to Kaohsiung was a cover for his dream of becoming president.”
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) said in a statement that “the recall process — from the petition to the outcome of the vote — has written a new page in the history of the autonomy of regional politics in Taiwan.”
The result demonstrated that the public did not need to wait for four years to express their political will, it wrote, adding that politicians need to hold themselves to a higher standard to win the public’s support.
Kaohsiung still faces problems, such as low wages and a loss of industry, which neither the DPP nor the KMT have been able to solve, it said.
The TPP said that it has the responsibility to provide an option to voters other than the pan-blue and pan-green camps.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang, Sean Lin, Shih Hsiao-kuang, Fang Chih-hsien and Huang Hsin-po
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS