An organization of professors today announced that it has gathered 3,000 signatures in less than three days for a campaign to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators across Taiwan.
The Central Taiwan Association of University Professors is seeking to recall KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) and 41 other legislators, accusing them of being “pro-China” and “pro-communist.”
Many in the academic community have provided the intellectual backing for various recall movements nationwide, association chairman Yang Tsung-jung (楊聰榮) said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Behavior by KMT and Taiwan People’s Party legislators has gone far outside the norm, contravening democratic principles, Yang said, adding that they are only focused on their parties’ goals.
Bills have been voted on by a show of hands without discussion first, unlike the norm in which legislators sign their names to their votes, he said.
This voting method undermines Taiwan’s hard-won democracy, he said, adding that recalls are the easiest way to solve the political chaos in the Legislative Yuan.
Political chaos poses a threat to Taiwan’s democracy and opens the door to greater Chinese interference in politics, said Cheng Cheng-ping (鄭政秉), a professor of finance at National Yunlin University of Science and Technology.
The situation could eventually lead to an economic and national security crisis, Cheng added.
Taiwan is the most democratic nation in Asia, where citizens have the right to recall politicians, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said.
Amendments pushed by Fu and other legislators undermine that right and make it harder for people to recall legislators who merit it, Chen said.
The group’s recall Web site got more than 2,000 signatures within 60 hours of going online, said Chien Tuan-liang (簡端良), an assistant professor at National Yunlin University of Science and Technology.
Nearly 80 percent are university professors, with the rest being teachers from primary and secondary schools, Chien added.
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