Han Kuo-yu, the mayor of Kaohsiung and Kuomingtang (Nationalist Party) candidate for president of Taiwan is facing a movement to recall him out of office that secured the number of signatures required to push the process forward on Monday.
Han is challenging incumbent pro-democracy President Tsai Ing-wen, who faced a brutal defeat of her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in last year’s midterm face but is now enjoying a nearly 40-point lead in her own re-election race. Tsai has made fighting Communist Party influence out of Beijing a priority of her tenure, a policy increasingly appreciated in Taiwan as citizens watch the ongoing protests continue in neighboring Hong Kong.
China has made clear its distaste for Tsai through escalating efforts to isolate Taiwan, a sovereign state, out of the international community, bribing away several former Taiwanese allies this year with promises of heavy Chinese investment. China adheres to a policy it calls “One China” in which not acknowledging Taiwan’s sovereignty is a prerequisite for diplomatic relations with Beijing.
China considers Taiwan a rogue province of China, despite the fact that Taiwan has self-governed as the Republic of China since 1912.
Taiwanese voters go to the polls on January 11.
Until then, Han will contend with the recall effort against him in Kaohsiung. According to Focus Taiwan, a coalition of anti-Chinese groups secured 22,800 signatures to overcome the first step in the process of recalling a mayor in the island country. They must now begin a second petition with ten times that amount, 228,000 signatures, and file that before Taiwan’s Central Election Commission to second an election to recall Han. A total of 25 percent of voters must vote “yes” to oust Han. Kaohsiung is home to 2.28 million voters, all of whom are eligible to sign the petition. Organizers must file the second petition in 60 days.
According to Focus Taiwan, Han became unpopular rapidly because he had barely been mayor when he decided to run against Tsai for the presidency of the country.
“The groups are seeking to recall Han because he launched his presidential bid less than six months into his mayoral term and has not been paying any attention to running the Kaohsiung local government, according to Citizens Mowing Action, another petitioner,” the outlet reported. “It said Han made bizarre and impractical promises during his campaign, has been constantly tripped up by gaffes and missteps, and is an incompetent absentee mayor.”
Han has dismissed the recall effort as a “trick” by supporters of Tsai to make him look unpopular. Recall activists organized a rally Saturday against Han they claimed attracted 500,000 people and that some of those partaking in the rally were “foreigners.”
“Event organizers claimed that 500,000 people took part in the march, but perhaps 480,000 of them were hiding under the banner and thus could not be seen,” Han said in a Facebook post, claiming that the recall activists had taken photos at such angles that a banner with slogans on it obscured empty spaces and made the crowd seem bigger, using the banner as a “fig leaf.”
In contrast to Han’s dispute with his city’s residents, Tsai spent the weekend at a rally with supporters in which she highlighted economic growth and opportunity. The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly, through its state media outlets, accused Tsai of damaging the Taiwanese economy by hurting relations with China and forcing China to then bribe Taiwan’s allies away from recognizing its sovereignty.
Tsai also made the point that keeping a solidly anti-communist government in power is about “protecting democracy and freedom.”
In remarks Sunday, Tsai once again emphasized the threat that China poses to peace and freedom in Taiwan.
“China has promised peaceful coexistence across the Taiwan Strait, by suggesting we go along with its ‘one country, two systems’ proposal, but this proposal is aimed at … exterminating the Republic of China,” she said. “Some people urged us to go along with the ‘one country, two systems’ proposal, which they said would ensure peaceful coexistence across the Strait … They urged us to relinquish our nation’s sovereignty, saying our economy would improve, but our sovereignty is not negotiable.”
“It is China that is undermining the ‘status quo’ across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s government under my leadership has not provoked or made any imprudent moves by upholding peace in the region,” she emphasized.
“One Country, Two Systems” is the policy that governs Hong Kong. Hong Kong residents have taken to the streets by the millions throughout the second half of 2019 demanding China stop abusing the policy to erode freedoms that Hong Kong grew accustomed to under British rule.
Tsai’s administration has expressed concerns that the Communist Party is planning interference in Taiwan’s elections to ensure that a leader favorable to Beijing takes power. Among the efforts Taipei has identified by Chinese meddlers are purchasing Taiwanese media companies and weaponizing them against those who support the current state of sovereignty on the island and bombarding social media with pro-Chinese propaganda.
The president also reportedly attended a heavy metal concert this weekend.
A poll released last week by the Cross-Strait Policy Association found Tsai with a commanding 56.5 percent share of likely voters compared to Han, standing at 18.1 percent. Third-party candidate James Soong received 9.9 percent support.
The poll notably found over half of respondents were concerned about China’s growing attempts to crush democracy in Hong Kong, a cause that Tsai has championed.
Another poll published Friday by Global Views Research found a dramatic drop in support for the Kuomingtang and a whopping 95 percent of Taiwanese rejecting annexation by China, which dictator Xi Jinping routinely threatens and the Kuomingtang supports.