Taiwan Statebuilding Party legislator Chen Po-wei was officially recalled after votes were counted in his district Saturday evening. Now the leader of the KMT, Eric Chu, having won his first political battle as chairman, is vowing to dish out "a vote of no confidence" to the DPP administration in the upcoming referendum in December. In response, Premier Su Tseng-chang says the KMT''s referendum proposals are unreasonable, and that referendums should not be used as tools to manipulate politics.

Ousted legislator Chen Po-wei started his day thanking those who voted against his recall.

Chen Po-wei
Legislator (TSP)
I am really touched. It has only been a year and nine months, but so many people were willing to travel so far to vote. They weren’t just catching up with a trend. They really wanted us to stay. The more than 70,000 votes against came not only from voters who made a special trip home, some also came from locals. The 73,433 votes sustained our courage.

Results for Chen Po-wei’s recall were announced Oct. 23. As many as 73,433 votes were against the recall. However, even more voted in favor, a total of 77,899 votes. A margin of 4,466 votes sealed Chen’s fate. Chen’s recall marks the first victory since Eric Chu was elected KMT chairman. The next battle for the opposition party will be the next national referendum on Dec. 18, which will cover four topics.

Eric Chu
KMT Chairman
This is a victory for the locals, and for Taiwan’s democracy. Next, the KMT will have to confront four issues in the national referendum, and we will give our all, because the referendum will be a vote of no confidence for Premier Su Tseng-chang, a vote of no confidence for the DPP administration.

Su Tseng-chang
Premier
Back then the KMT allowed the import of beef products containing ractopamine, and now they consume beef with ractopamine. They’re now vilifying pork products containing amounts of ractopamine allowed by international standards. How is that reasonable? As much as COVID restrictions allow, I will, along with my team, communicate to the public what the government is doing for its people. I also hope that the referendum can focus on relevant matters, and not be politically manipulated.

Though Chen Po-wei was successfully recalled, the 77,899 votes in favor of the recall were fewer than the 112,839 votes he received when he was elected legislator in 2020. This is the first time such phenomenon occurred. After the results of the recall voting came out, President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on Facebook she felt that recent recall votes reveal that there are still areas to be worked on in the development of democracy. Some say the president’s post signals her desire to amend the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act once again.

Chen Ting-fei
DPP legislator
Recalling has become a weapon between rival parties. As for how we should resolve this, we will have to gather different opinions on the matter.

According to the law, following the recalling of Chen, the second electoral district of Taichung will have to hold a by-election within three months. Potential candidates for the pan-Green camp include Li U-chin from Chen’s own party, DPP city councilors Chen Shih-kai and Jang jia-an, and former independent legislator Hung Tzu-yung. So far the DPP has said it would respect the TSP’s decision before nominating a candidate to run.