Freddy Lim, an independent legislator representing central Taipei, has survived recall campaign. Votes in favor of recalling Lim surpassed those against, 54,661 to 43,238, but fell short of the 58,756 threshold — a quarter of the electorate — required for the motion to take effect.
The recall was led by former KMT Taipei city councilor Chung Siao-ping, initiated on account of Lim’s perceived neglect of his electorate, which represents the districts of Zhongzheng and Wanhua in Taipei. The initiative is the latest in a series of similar recall campaigns against post-Sunflower Movement, younger politicians, seen as more progressive than their districts. A source of vulnerability for Lim is his district’s votes in favor of restricting U.S. pork at the December 18 referendum, which were greater than the amount required to oust him office. In the end, though, the challenge to Lim failed on account of not reaching this benchmark.
The campaign drew in major figures from both the opposition KMT and the DPP, with whom Lim frequently votes. On the day prior to voting, Jaw Shaw-kong, a media personality and potential 2024 KMT presidential candidate, former Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-pin, and Chung hosted two rallies in support of the recall campaign, one at Qingnian Park in Wanhua and the other in the evening in front of the Red House in Ximending. Issues that the speakers returned to were making a show of disapproval in Tsai’s government and Lim’s support of removing import restrictions on U.S. pork.
The final rally in support of Lim, lead singer of the Metal Band Chthonic, occurred last night at Longshan Temple, headlined by President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President William Lai. Longshan Temple is the site imbued with history for the DPP, the site of “The 519 Green Movement,” lead by early DPP figures Nylon Cheng, Chen Shui-bian, and Frank Hsieh.
Lim, a member of the Foreign and National Defense Committee in the Legislative Yuan, thanked supporters after his victory. “This week has been intense. I know everyone has been continuously voting, from the [December 18] referendum to the recall. We’ve held the line once again, and I want to thank everyone for this. Today is Sunday, so tomorrow we can’t sleep in. Tomorrow we return to our posts, just as we normally do.”
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TNL Editor: Bryan Chou, Nicholas Haggerty (@thenewslensintl)
