Looks like Chen has conceded in this highly watched recall vote. He becomes the first elected legislator to be recalled since the national election in 2020 in #Taiwan. Several thoughts here:
https://twitter.com/WilliamYang120/status/1451847003885895684
The main opposition party @kuomintang has been putting a lot of resources into this recall vote, as this district used to be a stronghold for Chen's main opponent, Yen Kuan-Heng, whose family has been winning legislative election in this district for years.
They put in lots of resources to dig up Chen's past while mobilizing the local constituents. This result may prove that local faction politics is still very important in #Taiwan, especially in legislative elections. Chen won by a small margin back in 2020, but this time ...
... it looks like KMT and the Yen family have successfully mobilized their supporters. It also proves that the Yen family still has considerable influence in this particular district in Taichung.
While the @DPPonline won more seats in Taichung during the 2020 national election, this result also shows that the second-largest city in #Taiwan remains a swing city. KMT still has considerable influence in certain districts of the city, and this could ...
... also mean that the current Taichung City Mayor's possible re-election will be fiercely contested.
Chen's camp has just officially conceded in this race, and this means there will be a by-election soon. He was in office for less than two years, and we can expect his main opponent Yen Kuan-Heng to participate in the by-election soon.
Another more concerning trend is that the recall vote continues to be used as a political tool for rival politicians to seek "revenge." This may have some negative impact on #Taiwan's overall democratic process.
Again, I have to recommend everyone to read this very detailed piece from @lnachman32 and @brianhioe to understand why it could be a concerning trend: thediplomat.com/2021/07/the-tr…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
