Taipei: The leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party on Tuesday criticized the mass recall campaigns targeting opposition lawmakers, labeling them as “a disgrace to democracy.”

According to Focus Taiwan, Eric Chu, chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), and Huang Kuo-chang, leader of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), convened at an “opposition leaders summit” titled “Bring Democracy Back to Taiwan.” The summit aimed to address the economic challenges posed by tariffs announced by United States President Donald Trump and the “democratic crisis” Taiwan is currently experiencing.

Chu expressed that while global democracies focus on tariffs and an impending U.S. national debt crisis, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is engaging in “politicking” by initiating mass recall campaigns. He accused President Lai Ching-te of running a “dictatorial” administration that undermines democracy.

Chu argued that instead of engaging in rational dialogue and seeking collaboration with opposition parties that hold a legislative majority, President Lai aims to “overturn” the January 2024 legislative election results by initiating mass recall campaigns against opposition lawmakers. Chu challenged Lai to name one democratic country that has ever employed such a tactic.

Taiwan is currently witnessing an unprecedented political confrontation as recall motions aim to remove the largest political party from the national legislature after winning a majority in a national election held just 15 months ago. As of March 10, recall campaigns have been launched against 34 of the KMT’s 39 lawmakers eligible for recall under Taiwan’s Public Officials Election and Recall Act. In a retaliatory move, KMT supporters have initiated recall campaigns targeting 15 DPP lawmakers.

The recall motions are in the second-stage signature collection process and must meet the legal threshold of 10 percent of all eligible voters in a constituency for a recall vote to be held. In response, DPP Spokesperson Justin Wu stated that the recall campaigns were initiated by civic groups, not the DPP. Wu defended the recall actions as a constitutional right of citizens.

Meanwhile, Huang accused Lai of “looking inward to target enemies despite facing a sea change.” He highlighted the case of former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je, who was detained by “Lai-controlled prosecutors” in August last year. Huang alleged that the DPP collaborated with prosecutors and certain media outlets to undermine the TPP.

Ko was detained on September 5, 2024, under suspicion of corruption during his term as Taipei mayor. The allegations arose after it was discovered that the Taipei City government permitted Core Pacific Group to redevelop a site at a vastly inflated floor area ratio. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Ko on charges of bribery, illegal benefiting of others, and breach of trust related to the redevelopment case and alleged cash flow offenses during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Chu, echoing Huang’s remarks, noted that Ko has been detained for eight months. He urged for evidence to be presented instead of coercing a guilty plea through detention. In response, Wu dismissed allegations that Lai had personally interfered with the judicial process, describing them as baseless “mudslinging.”