Kaohsiung saw two major rallies on Saturday. One was in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
The other, larger rally was held to remove him from his current position as mayor of Kaohsiung.
According to rally organizers, an estimated 500,000 people took to the streets on Saturday to support recalling Han, part of a drive by a group of residents frustrated with the lack of attention the upstart presidential hopeful was paying to his city.
Wecare Kaohsiung, the civic group which organized the rally, announced on June 26 they would attempt to gather the required 300,000 signatures from city voters to set the recall process in motion. By November 8, they had achieved that target and announced a parade in advance of formally handing in the petition to the Central Election Commission on the first legally possible day, December 26, exactly one year after Han was sworn in.
The MRT and streets surrounding the disembarkation point of the Kaohsiung Cultural Center were already swarming with supporters of all ages by noon, despite the official start time being 1.30 p.m. The atmosphere was positive and determined with all and sundry decked out in demonstration gear, for the most part adorned with official “Reset Kaohsiung” stickers and bearing homemade signs.
The parade, split into nine themed sections including Wecare, the Taiwan Statebuilding party, Anti-Red Media, Hong Kong, and civic recall group Mowing, ran across the center south of the city along a 4.8-kilometer route to end up at the Pier Two Arts Area with a concert resplendent with a giant mirror ball. Although the parade was scheduled to arrive by 4 p.m., its tail end was still streaming into the park area hours later.
“Restore Kaohsiung! Restore Taiwan!” In Taiyu and Mandarin. And a good old round of “Han Kuo-yu Xai Tai!” (Step down). There’s a lot of people here. pic.twitter.com/mVgVXNZn83
— Cat Thomas (@tientienkaixin) December 21, 2019
Meanwhile, the pro-Han parade in the north of the city attracted an estimated 300,000 supporters but had drizzled down to a few hundred by 5 p.m., one hour before it was scheduled to finish.
The Han camp announced its parade on December 8, perhaps with hopes of keeping Han fans from being influenced by the legions of voters eager to recall him. Earlier this week, Han warned people who do not reside in Kaohsiung not to participate in the rally to recall him as mayor.
Much was made of the possibility for conflict with bringing out two diametrically opposed groups to the city on the same day. Kaohsiung police stationed two officers in every MRT carriage, and in an unusual move, the U.S. representative office in Taipei urged citizens to avoid the recall rally.
However, both events went by peacefully.
Arron Yin (尹立), an organizer of the recall rally, said the success of both events without incident “set an example for our democracy.”
“There are two huge rallies, with hundreds of thousands of people, but even though the views of the two sides are different, it was very peaceful,” he said. “I think this is very important to show the progress of Taiwan’s democracy.”
“Even with so many people on the streets everyone was happy and peaceful. There were no confrontations. Everyone just did their own thing.”
Rousing cries of “Recover Kaohsiung! Protect Taiwan!” and “Chao Bao, Han Kuo-yu, Xia Tai!” (Idiot, Han, step down!) rang through the streets with a calm confidence amid an almost festive atmosphere. Taiwanese political humor was also on strong display, with renditions of the SpongeBob-inspired tune from a recent internet meme “Kuo-yu, Chao Bao, Kuo-yu Chao Bao, Kuo-yu, chao boa!” (Kuo-yu, uneducated fool!).
There were numerous witty takes on the perception of Han being a bit of a twit, including a demonstrator dressed as Han with a clown mask, accompanied by a recording of some of Han’s more egregious comments.
When I asked participants why they attended the recall rally, everyone was exceptionally clear: Han has done nothing for Kaohsiung and they have had enough.
“Kaohsiung hasn’t changed, we’ve been conned by this liar,” said A-Hu, a 72-year-old civil servant. “Of his election policies, not a single one has come to fruition.”
“I didn’t vote for him. No one got rich. He’s running for president only because he wants to get rich himself.”
‘Liar, liar, get out of here! (Photo: Charlie H.)
Student Pathy, 20, who was watching from the sidelines, simply described Han as “ludicrous.”
“I don’t even see Han around,” said Johnny, 36, a Taiwanese-American resident of Kaohsiung. “It’s like we don’t have a mayor in Kaohsiung. He’s on leave, or on vacation, or just wasted somewhere,” he said, referencing allegations by KMT contemporaries that Han enjoys drinking and mahjong.
“On a score of one to ten, he probably scores zero.”
“Kaohsiung is getting worse,” said Mei-ling, a 46-year-old businesswoman. “The current mayor says he has re-laid roads. Mr. Han says it’s a big change, but I don’t think so.”
“He’s not qualified to be president either. What is he qualified for at all?”
Many attendees expressed fears about the future of Taiwan’s democracy, going as far as to say if Han wins the upcoming presidential election, “Taiwan is over.”
Several mentioned the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and Chinese influence in Taiwan’s media as to why the country should vote against Han in January to protect its hard-won democracy.
(Photo: Charlie H.)
Two 12-year-old students, Polly and Dora, each carried a sign denouncing Han and spoke of the need to protect Taiwan’s democracy in the years before they become eligible to vote themselves.
The pair said they had snuck out to attend the rally as their parents, who do not support Han, had expressed concerns about safety with the two rallies taking place on the same day.
Most attendees appeared to hail from Kaohsiung or Tainan, with Yin estimating that 80 percent were local city residents.
The second stage of the recall process will require a further 230,000 new signatures. The final vote, should that be achieved, needs 25 percent of the city’s 2.28 million eligible voters to vote in favor while outnumbering “no” votes – around 570,000 in total. Today’s strong turnout has left Yin feeling confident that their mission will be achieved.
‘One person, one vote. Han, go make bubble tea!’ (Photo: Cat Thomas)
The message to Han from Kaohsiung residents was perhaps best expressed by Dora and Polly.
“We came because we hate Han Kuo-yu,” Polly said. “He just keeps talking but he is all talk and no action. He didn’t even do what he said he was going to do in Kaohsiung. So how can he run for president?”
(Cover photo by Charlie H.)
