Taipei: Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties intensified their final campaign efforts on Saturday as the countdown begins for next week's recall election targeting seven Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers. In central Nantou County, Ho Po-wen, acting secretary-general of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led party officials in a street canvassing effort to rally support for the recall of KMT lawmaker Yu Hao in the upcoming August 23 vote. Ho emphasized the need for legislators loyal to the nation, urging constituents to reject Yu and other KMT legislators who had advanced controversial bills over the past year.

According to Focus Taiwan, Yu is among seven directly elected KMT lawmakers facing recall votes, including Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang, long-serving lawmaker Lo Ming-tsai, and Ma Wen-chun, who is in her fifth term. The upcoming election represents the final phase of an unprecedented recall campaign launched by informal civic groups and backed by the DPP, aiming to unseat most of the KMT lawmakers. In the earlier round on July 26, all 24 KMT legislators retained their positions.

With momentum waning, the DPP and recall groups have recently revised their strategy, opting for more personalized campaigning through door-to-door visits and street-corner speeches instead of large rallies. On Saturday, besides Ho's visit to central Taiwan, six similar events took place simultaneously in Taichung, New Taipei, and Hsinchu County, with DPP officials advocating for the recall of local KMT lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the KMT held rallies in Nantou and Hsinchu, seeking support for its legislators facing recall votes. At the Hsinchu rally, KMT Chairman Eric Chu criticized the ruling party's massive recall campaign against the opposition, urging supporters to "step up and defend democracy" by voting against the recall of KMT lawmaker Lin Szu-ming. Chu also advocated for a pro-nuclear national referendum scheduled for August 23, arguing that Taiwan requires nuclear power for sufficient clean energy. The plebiscite, proposed by the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), aims to restart the decommissioned Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant (No. 3) in Pingtung, while the DPP has urged a vote against the proposal. Experts note that the vague wording of the referendum question would result in limited binding force.