Wang Yingjin 王英津, director of the Cross-Strait Relations Research Center at Renmin University of China 中国人民大学两岸关系研究中心主任 People’s Daily (August 28, 2025, page 12)

https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/pc/content/202508/28/content_30100416.html

Translated by Sinocism.com

Following the DPP-orchestrated “mass recall” suffering its first crushing defeat by 0:25 on July 26, in the second round of voting held on August 23 the DPP again met a rout, 0:7. Such a wipeout was no accident; it was a concentrated eruption of mainstream public dissatisfaction with the DPP authorities’ governance. Judging from the policy direction since Lai Ching-te took office, his cross-Strait line, and his policy toward the United States, there is an inherent logic behind the utter failure in both rounds of the “mass recall.”

继7月26日由民进党策动的“大罢免”以0∶25的结果首遭惨败后，在8月23日举行的第二轮投票中，民进党以0∶7的结果再遭惨败。如此完败并非偶然，这是台湾主流民意对民进党当局施政不满的集中爆发。从赖清德就任以来的施政方向、两岸路线与对美政策来看，两轮“大罢免”一败涂地的背后有其必然逻辑。

Abusing the recall system, betraying the spirit of democracy

滥用罢免制度，背离民主精神

In terms of form and procedure, the “mass recall” was conducted under the Taiwan region’s “Public Officials Election and Recall Act.” But when judged by its aims and substance, it plainly lacked legitimacy and reasonableness. Taiwan’s recall system embodies both normative and instrumental rationales; it is intended to correct the unfitness or misconduct of a very small number of administrative officials or elected representatives in political life. When administrative officials or representatives, once elected, prove unfit for office or act against the interests of the public, voters may exercise the right of recall to terminate their tenure. However, these two rounds of “mass recall” ran counter to the system’s original design. First, the DPP instigated recalls not because KMT legislators were incompetent, but in an attempt to use “recall + by-election” to reverse its seat disadvantage in the representative body. No sooner had the new KMT legislators taken office than the DPP began brewing recalls, and Lai Ching-te later proposed so-called “clearing out impurities”—direct evidence of this intent. Second, spanning many counties and cities and involving multiple constituencies, the recalls imposed indiscriminate strikes on the group of KMT legislators, transforming a mechanism originally targeting individual public officials into a tool of party struggle. Third, amid a sluggish economy and mounting livelihood pressures, the DPP disregarded people’s needs and, for selfish partisan ends, insisted on burning huge public resources to push the “mass recall,” thereby exposing its essence of placing party self-interest above the interests of the people of Taiwan. Fourth, the “mass recall” appears democratic but is in fact populist. In mobilizing the vote, the DPP stoked partisan confrontation and deepened social rifts, further fading Taiwan’s already much-criticized democratic image. It is not hard to see that the successive drubbings in the two rounds of “mass recall” were the inevitable result of the DPP’s disregard for the system’s original intent and betrayal of the spirit of democracy.

从形式和程序上看，“大罢免”虽依据台湾地区“公职人员选举罢免法”进行，但从目的与实质来审视，显然其缺乏正当性与合理性。台湾罢免制度本质上兼具价值理性和工具理性，旨在纠正政治生活中极个别行政官员或民意代表的不称职行为。当被选出的行政官员或民意代表就职后出现不称职情形或违背民众利益行事时，选民便可通过行使罢免权终止其职务。然而，此两轮“大罢免”与制度设计初衷背道而驰。其一，民进党策动罢免并非因为国民党籍民意代表存在不称职情形，而是意图通过“罢免+补选”来扭转其在民意机构中的席位劣势。新一届国民党籍民意代表刚就任不久，民进党便酝酿推动罢免，以及之后赖清德提出所谓的“清除杂质”，便是这一意图的直接佐证。其二，罢免横跨多县市、涉及多选区，对国民党籍民意代表群体实施无差别打击，已将原本针对个别公职人员的制度设计异化为政党斗争的工具。其三，在台湾经济低迷、民生压力加剧之际，民进党漠视民生需求，仍为一己之私执意耗费巨额公共资源推动“大罢免”，其将政党私利凌驾于台湾民众利益之上的本质暴露无遗。其四，“大罢免”貌似民主，实为民粹。民进党在投票动员过程中煽动政党对立，加剧社会撕裂，令本已备受诟病的台湾民主形象更加褪色。不难看出，两轮“大罢免”接连惨败是民进党罔顾制度初衷、违背民主精神的必然结果。

Relentless purges and vicious infighting provoke public revulsion

持续整肃恶斗，激起民众厌恶

Since Lai Ching-te took office, the DPP authorities have fostered a “green terror” on the island and even attempted to restore a so-called “military court system,” gravely damaging the Taiwan region’s democratic rule of law and human-rights safeguards. The “Black Bear Regiment” and “Bluebird” groups they have indulged rove the island making malicious disturbances, revealing the “Taiwan independence” forces’ dangerous tendency toward Nazification. In addition, the public on the island—especially the younger generation—has long faced livelihood predicaments such as soaring housing prices, stagnant pay, and unstable employment, with grievances boiling over. The DPP authorities, however, have neither the will nor the ability to respond; instead they frequently use judicial and administrative means to suppress the opposition. In some judicial cases lacking clear evidentiary support, they have still pursued opposition figures in a “ransack-the-house, wipe-out-the-family” fashion, triggering sharp criticism for “selective justice” and the instrumentalization of justice.

赖清德就任以来，民进党当局在岛内制造“绿色恐怖”，甚至企图恢复所谓“军事审判制度”，严重破坏台湾地区的民主法治与人权保障制度，其纵容的“黑熊部队”和“青鸟”团体在岛内四处活动、恶意闹场，暴露“台独”势力日趋纳粹化的危险倾向。加之，岛内民众尤其青年世代长期面对房价高涨、薪资停滞、就业不稳等民生困境，怨声沸腾，民进党当局却无心也无力应对，反而频繁借助司法与行政手段打压在野势力，在部分司法案件缺乏明确罪证支持的情况下，依旧对在野党人士采取“抄家灭门”式追杀，由此引发外界对“选择性司法”与“工具化司法”的尖锐批评。

The DPP authorities’ political persecution recognizes no inside or outside: they not only exclude those in their own party who differ, but also suppress and drive out mainland spouses and local entertainers who have expressed an anti-“Taiwan independence” stance. Such behavior has left everyone in Taiwan feeling at risk. Lai Ching-te also sought to use his so-called “Ten Lectures on Unity” to boost the “mass recall,” but it was riddled with errors and omissions; not only did it fail to achieve its goal, it drew the people’s scorn. At present, satisfaction and support for his governance on the island have both fallen sharply. A TVBS poll released on August 11 showed that only 28% of Taiwan’s people were satisfied with Lai Ching-te, while as many as 55% were dissatisfied. On August 16, Wu Tzu-chia, chairman of Formosa E-paper, further judged that his support was trending downward.

民进党当局的政治迫害行动不分内外，不仅在民进党内排斥异己，也打压驱逐那些曾表达反“台独”立场的陆配、岛内艺人。类似种种行径，使台湾社会人人自危。赖清德还企图通过发表所谓“团结十讲”助推“大罢免”，结果错漏百出，不仅没有达到目的，反而遭到民众唾弃。目前岛内民意对其施政满意度及支持度均严重下降，TVBS在8月11日公布的民调显示，台湾民众对赖清德的满意度仅28%，不满意度却高达55%。台湾“美丽岛电子报”董事长吴子嘉于8月16日更判断其支持度有进一步下跌的趋势。

Stoking “resist China, protect Taiwan,” and constricting cross-Strait exchanges

煽动“抗中保台”，限阻两岸交流

Since taking office, Lai Ching-te has continuously intensified cross-Strait antagonism, repeatedly spreading the so-called “new two-state theory” and other “Taiwan independence” fallacies, heightening tensions in the Taiwan Strait. On March 13 this year, he brazenly labeled the mainland a “hostile foreign force” and unveiled a so-called “17-item response strategy,” further restricting normal cross-Strait interactions in the realms of economy, culture, education, society, and religion. To implement this “17-item response strategy,” the DPP authorities also plan supporting packages of 10 bills, 12 administrative orders, and nearly a hundred measures and programs, forming a comprehensive policy system to limit cross-Strait exchanges. These policies run counter to the mainstream public desire in Taiwan for peace, development, exchanges, and cooperation, and thus have faced wide opposition and resistance. The results of the recall vote make it clear that Lai Ching-te’s “resist China, protect Taiwan” line has evidently failed.

赖清德就任以来持续强化两岸对立，不断散布所谓“新两国论”等“台独”分裂谬论，加剧台海紧张局势。今年3月13日，其悍然将大陆界定为“境外敌对势力”，抛出所谓“17项因应策略”，变本加厉地限缩两岸人员在经济、文化、教育、社会、宗教等领域的正常往来。为落实所谓“17项因应策略”，民进党当局还计划配套拟定10项法案、12项法规命令及近百项措施和计划，形成全方位限制两岸交流的政策体系。这些政策举措违背台湾社会要和平、要发展、要交流、要合作的主流民意，因而遭到广泛反对和抵制。此罢免投票结果充分表明，赖清德的“抗中保台”路线显然已经失灵。