Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu Loses Recall Vote in Landslide
China Times, June 7, 2020
With nearly 940,000 recall votes, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu became the first municipal mayor in Taiwan’s history to be removed from office. After the results were confirmed on June 6, Han delivered his concession speech, while slamming this recall vote as being unfair and unjust. He then wrote on Facebook, "Once a Kaohsiung citizen, lifelong devotion to Kaohsiung." Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai, who was Han’s opponent in the 2018 election and is believed to be a candidate in the upcoming by-election, began to appeal to the Kaohsiung people on Facebook: "Even if there are different opinions, we will still be closely united after the vote."
Despite the intermittent heavy rain yesterday in Kaohsiung, the enthusiasm of the public was not dampened. The total turnout rate was 42.14 percent, with 939,090 consenting to dismiss Han from the office of mayor, while merely 25,051 votes saying no. Earlier, Han had appealed to his supporters not to vote in the recall election to reduce confrontation.
After confirming that the number of votes crossed the threshold for recall, Mayor Han led his city government team to bow to the citizens and said, "Thanks to the citizens for having given me the opportunity, thanks to my municipal government team for their best effort; and I regret that since the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) second time in power, all their thoughts have been concentrated on the ‘National Team for Recalling Han’ and fiercely attacked me with all their strength. I regret my team's achievements have been smeared and discredited by rumors, and there are still many tasks yet to be completed. Finally, I wish Kaohsiung to be a great, revitalized and promising city."
After leaving the municipal government, Han immediately wrote on Facebook, "This time the DPP won the recall, but did Kaohsiung win?" Han also said that in the future, with or without work and in any capacity, he would definitely make his best contribution to Kaohsiung folks as much as he could. "Once a Kaohsiung citizen, lifelong devotion to Kaohsiung."
The atmosphere of Han’s supporters was depressed and gloomy, and many shouted in tears: “Thanks to Mayor Han for paving 600 roads for Kaohsiung” and slammed the ingrates among the Kaohsiung people; on the other side, when watching the live broadcast of the press conference of the municipal government on TV, supporters of the recall petition burst into thunderous applause, yelling “Our Kaohsiung! Our Pride!” while continued teasing Han: "Step down! What a pity!"
Chairman Johnny Chiang of the Kuomintang (KMT), who specially came to southern Taiwan to support Han, said he respected the results of the vote, but at the same time condemned the ruling DPP for using administrative power to blatantly manipulate the recall vote. In the next few days, the central committee of the KMT will consult with Han and the party’s Kaohsiung branch to discuss participation in the challenging by-election, recruit suitable talent, and reclaim the trust of Kaohsiung citizens.
According to the procedure, after review by the Central Election Commission, the recall will be officially announced on June 12 and Han’s mayorship will be removed on the day of the announcement. The three deputy mayors of the municipal government, the heads of departments, the secretary general and other civil personnel at the 13th-level and above will be dismissed together. The Executive Yuan will immediately assign an acting mayor. Unless Han files a lawsuit, the mayoral by-election will be held within three months.
After Han’s recall vote ended, President Tsai Ing-wen, who is also the chairwoman of the DPP, said on Facebook yesterday that the result of the recall vote was to give all politicians a serious alert: "The people may give us power and of course they may withdraw it." She said the voting was over, and she hoped that all parties would recollect themselves and stop attacking each other. She emphasized, "Building Kaohsiung is a promise I made. No matter who is the mayor, I will never forget this promise. Come on Kaohsiung! Go Taiwan!"
From: https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20200607000345-260118