Taiwan is paralyzed by political gridlock. A mass recall of ‘pro-China’ lawmakers could break that

Giant yellow trucks decked with bears sipping boba tea and broadcasting lawmaker speeches, emotional rallies featuring rock bands and rival political camps jostling for support outside metro stations – Taiwan is in the midst of what feels like a full-swing election. But this passionate political theatre is not to elect lawmakers. Instead it is an attempt to unseat them, using an unusual quirk of Taiwan’s democratic system – a recall vote.

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).

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