KMT Retains All 24 Seats in Legislative Recall Vote

TaiwanPlus News

A vote to determine the fate of 24 opposition lawmakers is over. The Kuomintang has successfully defended all of its seats in Taiwan's chamber, but the outcome is presenting big questions for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

Transcript

00:00Disappointment for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and elation for the main opposition

00:06Kuomintang.

00:08Twenty-four KMT lawmakers' seats were put to a recall vote on Saturday.

00:13All of them failed, marking an end to a historic recall campaign that could have overturned

00:19Taiwan's legislature.

00:21The DPP has been at odds with the opposition in the legislature since the last legislative

00:28election.

00:29While the party holds the presidency, it's the opposition coalition that's been calling

00:34the shots in Taiwan's chamber.

00:36Civic groups launched a months-long campaign to recall KMT legislators en masse, saying

00:42the party is too friendly with China, which claims Taiwan as its own.

00:47They targeted KMT heavyweights like legislator Wang Hongwei.

00:51After surviving her vote, she's called for a cabinet restructuring.

00:55Over on the DPP side, President Lai Qingde took to social media to thank civic groups

01:11for exercising their rights. He says there were no winners or losers in Saturday's recall election,

01:18and hailed the vote as a victory for democracy. The party says it will re-evaluate its methods,

01:23but that it remained united.

01:39For the public, those who support the recall are accepting Saturday's outcome.

01:44I think the first thing is to respect the

02:02It's quite important to me.

02:04We still need to work together.

02:05And I know many people are very difficult today.

02:07But I also want to tell you,

02:09at least we know that this fight is not bad.

02:13Then we will continue to work.

02:14There's no other one.

02:16After months of petitioning, campaigning and canvassing,

02:20voters have made their voices heard.

02:22With the opposition's control of the legislature here to stay,

02:45the question now is, can the ruling party find common ground with the opposition?

02:50Patrick Chen and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.

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