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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 New Taipei City recall operations fail to hit targets
“Recall Wu Yu-sheng; Recall bad legislators” are displayed in New Taipei City yesterday, after the Appendectomy Project announced the failures of its efforts to recall New Taipei City Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） legislators Wu Yu-sheng and Lin Hung-chih. Photo: Chen Wei-tsung, Taipei Times
AUTOPSY: ‘Mr Lin from Taipei’ said the efforts spread knowledge about political rights, adding that volunteers would target Taiwan’s ‘absurd’ recall laws
Petitions to recall New Taipei City Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） legislators Wu Yu-sheng （吳育昇） and Lin Hung-chih （林鴻池） failed to gather the required number of signatures before their deadlines yesterday.
With a petition to recall KMT Legislator Alex Tsai （蔡正元） that has been submitted, the campaigns were part of the Appendectomy Project. Two campaigns in Greater Kaohsiung reported failure earlier this month, following last month’s nine-in-one elections.
A petition to recall a legislator via referendum requires the support of 13 percent of eligible voters in the targeted legislator’s constituency. Wu’s constituency, New Taipei City’s Tamsui （淡水） and Sanjhi （三芝） districts, demanded a threshold of 37,469 signatures; Lin’s Banciao District （板橋） required 27,677 signers.
The project collected 29,010 signatures for the petition to recall Wu — about 77.4 percent of the goal. The effort performed better for Lin’s petition, gaining 23,810 signatures — about 86 percent of the threshold.
The second-stage petitions began on Nov. 26 and were given 30 days to reach the 13 percent threshold.
The Appendectomy Project spokesman, known as “Mr Lin from Taipei” （台北林先生）, said that in comparison with other nations, the petition period for recall campaigns in Taiwan is far too short, adding that the petitions would have succeeded if they had just one extra week.
“The recall standards in Taiwan are so high it is absurd,” Lin said. “In Japan and Canada, there are no deadlines for recall petitions, while in the US, the deadlines vary from 90 to 180 days in different states.”
Lin said the campaigns were valuable despite falling short, as they let the public learn more about the political right to recall unqualified politicians, adding that the project would campaign for legal reform of recall laws.
To protect the personal information of voters who signed the petitions, project organizers said they would soon destroy the forms at the Taishan Paper Factory, in an event to be broadcast live.
On Dec. 16, the project submitted to the Central Election Commission its petition to recall Tsai. The commission has 40 days to verify the information provided by the petitioners. If it validates the petition, a recall referendum is likely to be held before the end of February.
The project was founded during the Sunflower movement, in which student-led protesters occupied the legislature’s main chamber for 23 days over the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
The Appendectomy Project’s name was chosen because the term for pan-blue camp legislators in Mandarin Chinese, lan wei （藍委）, is pronounced the same as the word for “appendix” （闌尾）.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Known as “Mr Lin from Taipei,” the Appendectomy Project’s spokesman, left, tells volunteers and backers in New Taipei City yesterday that the group’s attempt to recall New Taipei City Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） legislators Wu Yu-sheng and Lin Hung-chih failed to reach its goals. Photo: Chen Wei-tsung, Taipei Times
Appendectomy Project volunteers and supporters gesture in New Taipei City yesterday. Photo: Chen Wei-tsung, Taipei Times
