20,000 km for democracy

People are going to great lengths to vote in Taiwan’s ‘Great Recall’…

A protester hiding a sign at a political rally in Taiwan.
A pro-recall rally in Taiwan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

From CNN:

This Saturday, Taiwan goes to the ballot box to decide whether 24 lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) – around 20 percent of Taiwan’s legislature – can keep their jobs. Seven more seats are to be voted on next month.

The outcome could reshape Taiwan’s political landscape, allowing the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to recapture a majority in the legislature, currently controlled by its opponents the KMT and the smaller Taiwan’s People Party (TPP).

This is not an ordinary election. It’s a recall—the rarest form of direct democracy—in which sitting politicians can be expelled by voters in between regular elections.

Taiwan’s last national election was in January 2024. The DPP won the presidency for the third consecutive term, but the joint KMT–TPP opposition took control of the legislature.

It’s been a bumpy ride:

Some people see the latter two moves as doing China’s bidding: causing governmental dysfunction and undermining confidence in Taiwanese democracy.

This has prompted a wave of grassroots recall petitions.

Recalling politicians is a lengthy task:

  1. In each electorate, 1% of eligible voters must sign a recall petition
  2. Once verified, 10% must sign a second petition
  3. On the day of the vote, at least 25% of registered voters must support the recall, with more ‘yes’ votes than ‘no’ votes

Voters go to great lengths to participate in the recalls: Taiwan doesn’t allow early or remote voting, so people must return to their home districts to vote in person.

A trend on social media has seen Taiwanese from around the world post photos of their plane tickets and share stories about their journeys home.

Here’s a translated example from Threads:

I’m a mother of two. My husband is Australian and I’ve been in Australia for ten years. Currently, due to my husband’s work, we are living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I took my two kids and flew two hours from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi, waited eight hours for a connecting flight, then flew 14 hours to Australia. After that, I took a five-hour car ride with a friend back to our rural home, left the kids with friends to take care of them, then traveled five hours back to Sydney and took an eight-hour flight to Taiwan—a quick solo trip—just to vote!

And I want all my friends to know: I’m a Taiwanese who will likely die overseas in the future, but I wasn’t bribed or paid by any political party to do this. I only want to protect Taiwan, the family and friends I love, and all Taiwanese people!!!!

By my calculation, she travelled over 20,000 km to vote.

In 2020, 97% of Kaohsiung voters opted to recall the incumbent mayor—a KMT politician who, incidentally, is now the legislative speaker. But no one’s expecting such an extreme result this year. English-speaking pundits say it’s too close to call.

If the KMT lose 12 or more seats, the DPP would instantly gain a majority.

I’ll be watching TaiwanPlus’ results coverage tomorrow from 5pm (UTC+8).