Welcome to the third installment in our series on Taiwan's Great Recall (大罷免) in which we aim to bring you perspectives from all sides of the debate at this important moment in Taiwan's democratic journey.
As the days count down to July 26th, campaigning by both the pro and anti recall groups in Taiwan is gaining momentum. These recall campaigns are a result of a power struggle between different branches of Taiwan's government - the Legislative Yuan which is controlled by the Chinese Nationalist Party or KMT (中國國民黨) with their smaller ally, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), and, the Executive Yuan which is controlled by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (民主進步黨).
In the last election back in January of 2024, the KMT won 52 seats in the Legislative Yuan and combined with the 8 seats of the smaller Taiwan People's Party as well as two independents, they command a clear majority over the DPP who currently hold 51 seats.
The KMT and the TPP have, according to critics, used this majority to assert and boost legislative power, and have sought to bock the ruling party's agenda, freeze or cut budgets, undermine Taiwan's constitutional order and weaken efforts to bolster defense capabilities against growing Chinese military threats.
Civil society recall groups also express concerns with KMT lawmakers' frequent visits to China and meetings with senior officials in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while the parliament was in session. They accuse the KMT of collision with the CCP with some like UMC founder and chip tycoon, Robert Tsao going so far as to say that "Beijing wants to use the KMT to annex Taiwan" and calling the KMT "China's Trojan Horse" - that's according to a report by new outlet Nikkei Asia (see link below).
In this third episode in our series on Taiwan's Great Recall, we speak with Chance Hsu (須予謙) who is the Assistant Director of International Affairs for the KMT. We sat down with him in Taipei in early July to hear the party's official response to these recalls and understand why the KMT think they are politically motivated. We also wanted to hear the KMT's response to the concerns raised by civic groups, talk about their controversial budget cuts and discuss the party's connections with China.
Date of Recording: July 1st, 2025.
Post Interview Update: Taiwan's Central Election Commission announced on July 2nd that recalls for two more KMT lawmakers will take place on August 23rd. This brings the total to 26 KMT lawmakers now facing potential removal.
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| KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) addresses the crowd at an anti-recall rally in Rongxing Garden (榮星花園) in Taipei on June 22nd, 2025. |
DIVE DEEPER:
Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:
- Pragmatic governance key to build up Taiwan - Chance Hsu, Taipei Times (March 6th, 2025)
- Editorial: Recalls an expression of public will - Taipei Times (March 6th, 2025)
- Recall Campaigns Reach Fever Pitch in Taiwan - Brian Hioe, The Diplomat (July 15th, 2025)
- Taiwan's 'Great Recall' a Historic Bid to Overturn the Opposition's Legislative Majority - Courtney Donovan Smith, China Brief Volume:25 Issue:13, The Jamestown Foundation (July 7th, 2025)
- Medical groups endorse recall votes - Lin Hui-chin and Jason Pan, Taipei Times (July 11th, 2025)
- 2 more KMT lawmakers to face recall votes on Aug. 23 - Kao Hua-chien and Lee Chieh-yu, Focus Taiwan (July 2nd, 2025)
- Explainer: Mass slate of recall votes leaves KMT staring down disaster - Teng Pei-ju and Sunny Lai, Focus Taiwan (June 21st, 2025)
- Taiwan chip tycoon warns China has 'Trojan horse' that must be voted out - Thompson Chau, Nikkei Asia (June 18th, 2025)
- KMT proposal a sovereignty risk, civic groups say - Lin Tse-yuan, Jason Pan and Jake Chung, Taipei Times (June 14th, 2025)
- Cut Too Deep? Widespread Recall Efforts Against Taiwanese Legislators - Olimpia Kot, Sarah Jiang, European Values Center for Security Policy (March 11th, 2025)
- Taiwan extends mandatory military service to one year - Fan Wang, BBC News (December 27th, 2022)
