Photo by: Olimpia Kot, European Values
What is happening?
Taiwan is currently facing an unprecedented democratic crisis as a wave of recall efforts targeting members of the Legislative Yuan, the country’s unicameral legislature. On March 5, the recall process for 32 Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang; KMT) legislators advanced to the second phase, while proposals to recall nine Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators failed to meet the required threshold. If the necessary signatures for the unsuccessful proposals are not collected within 10 days, these proposals would likely be revoked.
These widespread recall efforts are a desperate attempt to resolve ongoing tensions between the legislative and executive branches, which arose after the January 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections. While the DPP holds the presidency and controls the executive branch, the KMT, working in an informal coalition with a smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), has the plurality in the legislature. The KMT-TPP alliance’s cuts to the national budget instilled the momentum for the recall campaigns.
What is the broader picture?
The complicated dynamics between the KMT-TPP controlled legislature and the DPP government reached several boiling points, mainly resulting from controversies surrounding the alliance’s legislative initiatives. Notably, the proposed amendments to the Functions and Powers of the Legislative Yuan and the Constitutional Court Procedure Act sparked the Blue Bird Movement (青鳥運動). Additional concerns arose over the rushed passage of laws without sufficient legislative discussion, including the Public Officials Election and Recall Act, the Constitutional Court Procedure Act, and amendments to the Act of Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures. Additionally, the legislature has faced criticism for introducing impractical bills driven by political posturing and prioritizing pork-barrel legislation.
Recent budget cuts jointly proposed by the KMT and TPP further intensified tensions, as they authorized a historic reduction of approximately 207.5 billion TWD (6.3 billion USD) across government agencies. This corresponds to a total of almost 7 percent. Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) emphasized that this figure is “unprecedented,” as the average budget cuts over the past three years were 1.17 percent, and between 1.1 and 1.3 percent over the past 10 years.
The recalls specifically target legislators elected in Taiwan’s single-member constituencies. The country’s legislature is composed of 113 officials selected through parallel voting. Six seats are reserved for Indigenous constituencies, whose representatives are elected using Single Non-Transferrable Vote (SNTV); 34 seats are allocated through party-list Proportional Representation (PR); while the remaining 73 officials represent single-member districts with First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system.
Article 17 of the Republic of China Constitution states, “the people have the rights of election, recall, initiative, and referendum.” Article 133 further states that “elected officials may be recalled by voters in their original electoral district in accordance with the law.” The recall process can only be initiated by voters holding household registration in the official’s electoral district, requiring at least 1 percent of the total size of the constituency to sign the petition. Furthermore, in the second stage, the collected signatures must represent at least 10 percent of the district’s total constituency for the recall vote to be held.
In light of this system, Eric Chu (朱立倫), KMT Chairman and former Mayor of New Taipei City, urged his party’s non-district legislators to “avoid stirring up controversy” instead of assisting their district-based colleagues in the Legislative Yuan. He emphasized the importance of prioritizing legislation that “improves people’s livelihood.”
The recall campaigns targeting the KMT legislators enjoy significant backing from Taiwanese philanthropists connected to the pan-Green camp, centered around the DPP. Robert Tsao (曹興誠), a Taiwanese entrepreneur and founder of United Microelectronics Corporation (聯華電子), is one of the key initiators of the recall campaign. Tsao remarked that the KMT has “completely surrendered to the Chinese Communist Party” and urged the public to stand up and defend Taiwan against Chinese infiltration.
Why does it matter?
According to the latest report by Citizen Congress Watch (CCW), a Taiwanese NGO engaged in parliamentary monitoring efforts, the first session of the new parliament has seen a total of 1,730 legislative proposals introduced. However, only 40 have successfully passed the readings, reflecting low legislative efficiency. The lack of effective communication within the Legislative Yuan suggests that partisan infighting has taken precedence over advancing policies that benefit the public.
As a result, the ongoing wave of recall efforts is a significant indicator of the decline in the quality of governance within Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan. CCW warns that rather than alleviating political polarization, these developments may further entrench divisions within the political system and society. Moreover, they could amplify the spread of disinformation in popular media, undermining ongoing efforts to combat internal and external cognitive warfare waged by malign authoritarian actors.