Showing posts with label #TaiwanRecall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #TaiwanRecall. Show all posts

Taiwan's Hot Summer - Recalls, Tariffs and Tensions

 It has been a sweltering few months in Taiwan's political scene with partisanship intensifying in domestic politics, increased cross-strait tensions and unfolding US tariffs.

At the end of June, I was fortunate to meet up with two of Taiwan's leading columnists and political analysts from the central city of Taichung.

Courtney Donovan Smith (X: @donovan_smith ) is a staff columnist with the Taipei Times whose regular column, Donovan's Deep Dives shares in-depth analysis on everything about Taiwan's political scene and geopolitics. He is also the central Taiwan correspondent for ICRT FM Radio. 

Michael Turton (X: @michaelturton ) is also a contributing columnist for the Taipei Times. His column, Notes from Central Taiwan provides incisive commentary informed by three decades of living in and writing about his adoptive country.

I met up with Donovan and Michael to talk about the lead up to the Great Recall vote, President Lai's leadership, party dynamics, trade pressures and what it all means for Taiwan's future.

Date of Recording, June 24th, 2025.



Picture shows Taipei cityscape with the sun shining through an orange sky as Taipei downtown bakes in the summer heat.


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:





#TaiwanPolitics, #CrossStraitTensions, #PresidentLai, #TaiwanPodcast, #USChinaTrade, #USTariffs, #TaiwanRecall, #PartisanPolitics, #EastAsiaPolitics, #TaiwanNews, #TaipeiTimes, #ICRT, #MichaelTurton, #CourtneyDonovanSmith, #NeiloPodcast, #AsiaGeopolitics, Geopolitics 


Taiwan's Great Recall - July 26th Results

On July 26th, nearly one-third of Taiwan’s electorate were eligible to vote in the first wave of what’s being called Taiwan's Great Recall (大罷免) — a rarely used mechanism allowing voters to dismiss nationally elected lawmakers midterm. This marks the first time the process has been deployed on such a large scale with 24 lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) or Chinese Nationalist Party on the ballot.

The vote result is being closely watched as it has the potential to alter the balance of power in Taiwan’s parliament, which has seen months of political deadlock between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government and the opposition KMT and their allies.

In this episode we dive into the outcome of that vote. We break down the results, highlight the key takeaways, discuss the reactions and review how these results are likely to shape the remaining term of Taiwan’s current administration.


Date of Recording: July 26th, 2025




The title Taiwan's Great Recall - July 26th Results sits in front of a backdrop of a picture of protesters and campaigners gathered on a street in Taiwan late in the evening as they all pay attention to a speaker on a stage in the distance.




DIVE DEEPER:


Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:


YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Other episodes in Taiwan's Great Recall series:


#Taiwan, #GreatRecall, #KMTRecall, #DPP, #ChinaInfluence, #Taiwanelection, #RecallVote2025, #TaiwanDemocracy, #PoliticalPodcast, #Geopolitics, #ProDemocracy, #DemocracyInAsia, #TaiwanVotes, #CivicEngagement, #GreatRecall2025, #ProtectDemocracy, #大罷免

Taiwan's Great Recall - Ep4 - Interview with Wang Hung-wei Recall Group

Welcome to the fourth installment in our series on Taiwan’s Great Recall in which we aim to bring you perspectives from all sides of the debate at this important juncture in Taiwan’s democratic journey. 


As we explained in previous episodes, this unprecedented KMT 中國國民黨 recall stems from a public backlash against months of legislative gridlock, budgetary obstruction, and interference with Taiwan’s highest court—including accusations of collusion with the Chinese Communist Party.  


While the recall effort is mostly organized by civil society organizations, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) 民主進步黨 has recently begun to engage more visibly as the first voting day approaches. Taiwan’s President and DPP leader Lai Ching-te 賴清德 has also been conducting a series of 10 speeches at various civic centers around Taiwan which media reports indicate is a likely effort to boost DPP turnout in the voting.


Clearly, if enough KMT lawmakers are unseated and the DPP can reclaim their seats in the follow-on election, it would dramatically shift the balance of power in Taiwan’s parliament.


One of the KMT candidates on the recall ballot for July 26th is Wang Hung-wei 王鴻薇.  She is the deputy secretary general of the KMT legislative caucus and was last elected to the single seater District 3 in Taipei in 2024 with over 52% of the vote. Prior to becoming a national politician she was a Taipei City councillor and before that worked in Journalism.


While Wang Hung-wei is no stranger to controversy, people we spoke to say they are most concerned about her close ties to China. They cite her visit to Beijing in 2024 with KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-Chi 傅崐萁 and their meeting with top CCP politburo official Wang Huning 王滬寧 - a meeting for which they were not able to obtain any readout. 

The reason many constituents worry about such meetings is because Wang Huning is credited with being the CCP’s  leading ideologist since the 1980s and is also the leader of the organization tasked with what the CCP call the  “peaceful reunification of Taiwan". 


At the end of June, I went along to a neighborhood gathering at a small cafe in the Songshan district of Taipei. It was organized by the Wang Hung-wei recall group (Insta @wanghongwei2025gg). 


I was interested to find out more about the group, 

  • hear about the concerns that were causing them to recall Wang Hong Wei and 

  • get their reactions to the questions and accusations from the anti-recall camp, and lots more!


 Date of Recording: June 27th, 2025.



KMT Lawmaker Wang Hung-wei gives a speech with her fist held high in the air while being flanked by two KMT supporters. Listen to our podcast at www.pwneilo.com or by searching for Perspectives with Neilo wherever you get your podcasts.
KMT lawmaker Wang Hung-wei 王鴻薇 who is up for recall vote on July 26th gives a speech during an anti-recall rally.


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • 2025 Taiwanese recall votes - wiki


YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Other episodes in Taiwan's Great Recall series:


#TaiwanPolitics, #TaiwanRecall, #DemocracyinAction, #KMTRecall, #TaiwanElections, #RecallVote2025, #CivicEngagement, #TaiwanDemocracy, #PerspectiveswithNeilo, #politicalPodcast, #TaiwanPodcasts, #GrassRootsMovement, #ProDemocracy, #ElectoralReform, #CivilSocietyVoices, #StopCCPInfluence, #TaiwanVotes, #peoplePower, #July26Recall








Taiwan's Great Recall - Ep1 - Interview with Prof Chen Fang-Yu

In this episode, we kick off the first part in a series of podcasts 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 crossroads in Taiwan's democratic journey.

As we explained in our previous episode on President Lai's first year in office, while his party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidential vote in January of 2024, they failed to maintain a majority in the Legislative Yuan or parliament. As a result, the parliament has been controlled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their smaller ally, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) who according to opponents have sought to block the DPP's agenda, freeze budgets, undermine Taiwan's constitutional order and weaken efforts to bolster defense capabilities against growing Chinese military threats.

According to a report by Citizen Congress Watch (CCW), a Taiwanese NGO engaged in parliamentary monitoring, in the first session of the current parliament, only a fraction of legislative proposals successfully passed the readings, reflecting low legislative efficiency as a result of the divisive partisan infighting that has taken precedence over advancing policies for public benefit.

The KMT insist that they are seeking to strengthen and protect Taiwan's democracy and say these recalls are politically motivated. They accuse the ruling DPP of using recalls to eliminate the opposition. However, not all of the electorate would appear to agree and a mass recall effort led by civic groups has been underway for months.

On June 20th, Taiwan's Election Commission announced a recall vote for 24 KMT lawmakers - that's around one quarter of the parliament's members - all from the main opposition party. The date for the recall has been set for July 26th.

In this first episode in our series on Taiwan's Great Recall, we talk to Professor Chen Fang-Yu 陳方隅 (X:@FangYu_80168) from the Department of Political Science at Soochow University (東吳大學) in Taipei to understand:

  • The history of recall elections in Taiwan and the recall process,
  • What factors have led to this latest and unprecedented mass recall effort,
  • How Beijing's military pressure on Taiwan and relationship with individual lawmakers are influencing attitudes on the recall
  • Plus much more!

Date of Recording: June 6th, 2025.





Picture shows the Republic of China flag and a pro-Taiwan Independence flag flying side by side against a partially cloudy sky at a recall rally in Taipei in April 2025. The crowds at the rally can also be seen in the background.
Republic of China flag (left) and Taiwan pro-Independence flag (right) appear side by side at a recall rally in Taipei on April 19th, 2025.
Photo credit - double_lucky_ (Instagram)




DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • Citizen Congress Watch report (December 2024)



    #TaiwanPolitics, #TaiwanRecall, #GreatRecall2025, #大罷免, #TaiwanDemocracy, #TaiwanElections, #RecallVote, #TaiwanLegislature, #TaiwanParliament, #LaiChingTe, #KMTvsDPP, #TaiwanVotes, #China, #CCP, #KMT, #TrojanHorse, #Geopolitics, #PoliticsPodcast, #TaiwanPodcast, #StandWithTaiwan, #CivicEngagement, #RecallMovement

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