Did the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) surrender early in the recall campaign? Today, Lai Ching-te suddenly and unexpectedly halted the fifth lecture of "Unity Ten Talks," effectively admitting that even his "big shot" strategy of personally leading the charge failed. Especially when Lai's "impurity theory" triggered strong backlash from all sectors on the island, and the slogan "Come out on July 26 to vote no, I am impure, I am proud" spread rapidly, it means the situation of the recall is turning rapidly, becoming increasingly unfavorable for the DPP.
Lai personally stepped in to push the recall, but instead of forming a helping hand, it became a breach for the blue camp to unite against the recall, with increasing negative impact. Previously, there had been reports within the DPP that Lai should stop the "Unity Ten Talks." However, today, he could not continue. But it would be too early to conclude that he has completely surrendered.
In fact, in the second phase of the recall petition, the blue and green camps had a ratio of 31 to 0. The DPP seemed to have overwhelming momentum on the surface, and the green camp even optimistically predicted that it would be easy to recall six KMT legislators on July 26, and even estimated that they could recall ten. However, in the end, it also shows that the DPP's mobilization energy has reached its ceiling, and the peak has turned into the end of the bow, with Lai's personal involvement failing to ignite more sparks.
The reversal of the blue and green momentum can be attributed to three reasons. First, after the recall officially took effect, entering the third stage of voting, the KMT legislators no longer hesitated, and to protect their seats, they stopped waiting passively and started a formal military operation, treating it as a real election campaign. Second, Lai's "Unity Ten Talks" became the "Controversial Ten Talks," and the "Impurity Theory" further successfully united the anger of the blue camp supporters, even causing murmurs within the green camp. Third, the tragic event of the wife of former Taipei Deputy Mayor Peng Zhen-sheng committing suicide sparked deep sorrow among the people on the island, stimulating the desire to vote against the recall.
However, this first-ever "large-scale recall" in Taiwan's history is still undecided. The blue camp cannot be careless or get too excited. The DPP has always believed in "cutting throats until they are severed," which is too early. There are still three weeks left before the recall vote, which will be the final moment of the "throat-cutting battle," where those who avoid misjudgment and mistakes will truly be able to laugh on July 26.
A blue camp source analyzed that apart from continuing to sing the melody of "resisting China to protect Taiwan," the pro-recall side may still have three key cards. First, the controversy over "petition plagiarism." Recently, the deputy chairperson of the KMT's Organization Department was detained, and whether this will continue to escalate, such as detaining the chairperson of the Organization Department, Xu Yu-zhen, or higher-level officials, to strengthen the public's impression of "organized crime," is the first variable. Second, the recall group constantly shouts "capture the king first," and the KMT's Legislative Yuan party group chairman Fu Kun-hsi might be the main target of the DPP. For the green camp, handling Fu Kun-hsi is a rational choice with a small scope of impact, and it can also become a step to repair the recall breach. Third, although the Legislative Yuan session is extended to late August, criticized as "opening all protection umbrellas," for the "blue legislators" in the hotly contested areas, the judiciary remains the biggest variable.
The negative impact of Lai's "impurity theory" and "remaining population theory" on Taiwanese society and the recall political action essentially represents a strategic failure of the DPP's efforts to consolidate power through creating division and manipulating ideology.
Lai claimed to remove "impurities" through elections, stigmatizing opposition parties and ordinary citizens with different political views as "impurities." This rhetoric reveals his intention to eliminate dissenters, which was denounced by KMT Chairman Chu Li-wei as a "political purge." More ironically, surveys show that nearly 80% of Taiwanese people believe the DPP is the real "impurity," highlighting the backlash effect of his statements.
The website of the "Executive Yuan" classified the Han Chinese, who make up 96% of the population in Taiwan, as the "remaining population," deliberately downplaying the dominant status of the Han ethnicity, and listing only the indigenous ethnic groups and foreign populations, which account for 2.6%. This classification method has been criticized as an "anti-Chinese" cognitive warfare, attempting to sever the blood ties between Taiwan and mainland China from the cultural roots. KMT legislator Lin Pei-xiang sarcastically said that if this logic were followed, "we might as well say we all came from Mars," pointing out the absurdity of this approach.
Lai's "impurity theory" and "remaining population theory" essentially represent the extreme ideological manipulation adopted by the DPP to consolidate power. However, this practice of stigmatizing political opponents and marginalizing the majority ethnic group has caused social backlash and a shift in public opinion. As the "recall" vote approaches, Lai's statements have become a rallying flag for opponents.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836823777160260/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.