Han Kuo-yu: ‘Earnest’ or ‘Rubbish’? Voters Debate Recall of Kaohsiung Mayor

Last Sunday was a warm, pleasant day in Kaohsiung. Friends and families were out in the spacious Central Park enjoying the sunshine and relaxing. Foreign workers unwound on their days off, while others had brought their elderly charges out to the park.

Under some trees behind a toilet block a few makeshift tables worth of older local men were avidly playing a popular local card game Da Lao Er (Big 2), “betting” with go chips and enjoying a cigarette or two out of the way of any families that might feel inclined to report them for breaking the no smoking policy.

We asked the elderly men what they thought of their mayor, Han Kuo-yu 韓國瑜, who may become Taiwan’s first mayor to face a recall vote.

“Ba mian!” [Recall!] announced Xiao Qi. The rest of the players at his table quickly chimed in in agreement. “We’ve all signed the recall petition,” they declared. “Tai lan le!” (He’s rubbish!) added Xiao Qi. Everyone nodded. “We hate him!”

Xiao Qi and his Han-hating friends. (Photo: Cat Thomas)

Kaohsiung elected Han in late 2018 after he surged to power with a whirlwind populist campaign, promising riches for all and adventurous city projects: a “love Ferris wheel” with cars resembling motel rooms; a visit by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Taiwan’s very first Disneyland branch. (Neither Disney nor the Governator expressed knowledge of the projects.) Han’s campaign, however, intrigued local voters who had steadily voted in DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) mayors for 20 years. His slick, and possibly overfunded, campaign caught many by surprise. So did the results: Han won 54% of the vote, defeating rival Chen Chi-mai 陳其邁 by a margin of 9%.

Han’s mayoral tenure, however, quickly became mired in controversy as the projects he had promised saw little to no progress. This was compounded when, just six months after taking office, Han was officially nominated as the presidential candidate for the KMT (Chinese Nationalist Party), despite having assured Kaohsiung citizens that he would not run.

The nomination sparked a civic organization-led movement in Kaohsiung to start a campaign to recall Han. On December 21, Kaohsiung hosted a Recall Han March which reportedly attracted a half million supporters. On December 26, exactly one year after Han took office, organizers handed in 28,560 collected signatures from Kaohsiung residents, thus passing the first stage of the three-part recall process. For the second stage, organizers have 60 days to collect signatures from a further 228,000 voters.

Last weekend, when these interviews were conducted, around 200,000 signatures had been collected. By Tuesday, just two weeks into the drive, the civic groups announced that they had crossed the legal threshold but would continue to their target of 300,000. By Thursday evening, they were just 29,361 signatures away from that target.

Back with the card players in the park, Mr. Hsueh, 77, a retired army officer, said he has been volunteering with one of the recall groups. “Of course, I didn’t vote for him originally. He’s not a good man. All my friends, my family feel this way,” he explained.

Robert, 67, gave a more nuanced picture, being careful to speak in English. “If you ask around here, it’s quite a Taiwanese area. But there are two sides to this,” he said. “Some people around here voted for him for mayor. But once Han upped and left and went to run for president, they didn’t approve of that. So that was his mistake.”

In October, Han took three months leave to focus on his presidential campaign, raising fears that Han was not committed to his role as mayor and would neglect the city. On January 13, after losing the presidential race to incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文, Han resumed his mayoral duties.

In the center of the park, Jenny, 24, who works in sales, and Vicky, 25, an office worker, had been for lunch together and were taking some photos. Both had signed the petition for Han’s recall.

“Once he decided to run for president, people became pretty annoyed,” Jenny said. “We felt like he wasn’t treating Kaohsiung right.”

Vicky (left) and Jenny. (Photo: Cat Thomas)

Vicky said that she, unlike Jenny, had voted for Han in the mayoral election and thus felt the snub more strongly. “All the things he’d promised in his campaign… well, they are not really the same as what he has actually done,” she said. “And then busying himself with running for president, it’s not really on. And even now he’s back being full-time mayor, I don’t really feel like I’m seeing him do much.”

As far as Vicky is concerned, Han has had his chance and proven unworthy of the job.

There’s no doubt that there are still residents of Kaohsiung who support their mayor; nearly every supporter of the recall petition interviewed says that they know a couple at least. Asked about their perception of the attitude of these people toward the recall effort, the responses are mixed. Some said the Han supporters they know are emotional and even angry about it. But many people told me that while their friends may not agree with their viewpoint, they respect the right to petition for a recall.

“We’ll see what happens, but this is our civic right,” Robert said. “I have friends who like [Han]. There are even some here now, but they won’t tell you that in Mandarin with all these people around.”

Robert added that although they may hold a different opinion, these friends generally respect the civic right of those aiming for a recall vote.

Over on the other side of the park Xiao Ming, 45, was relaxing on a bench with her 67-year-old mother. Xiao Ming, who works in the computer industry, said she supports Han. “I think he’s an earnest and serious politician,” she said. “He’s doing a really good job.”

Both Xiao Ming and her mother believe that Han is performing well, is suited to being mayor and has kept his promises, especially in terms of infrastructure in the city. Indeed, Han has highlighted his focus on issues such as fixing potholes and improving street lighting.

Xiao Ming’s mother, eyes sparkling above her facemask, was dismissive of the recall effort. “Some people are being so boring!” she said. “They want to recall Han! Han is very selfless and really thinks about us citizens. Clear-sighted people can see that he is the right mayor for Kaohsiung.”

“We support Han because we have clear minds,” she continued. “But the other people … their minds are not so clear. He is working through the promises he made one-by-one.”

She added that all her friends support Han: “We all see him as someone who represents our voice.”

Several people declined to be interviewed once they heard Han was the topic of discussion. It’s hard to be sure of their exact reasons, but – drawing on my experience of reporting at Han rallies during his presidential bid – Han supporters can tend to be reluctant to speak to media.

Vicky and Jenny said that while most of their peer group have had it with Han, the older generation are still listening to Han, including Jenny’s parents.

A Lennon wall at the headquarters of recall group Citizens Mowing Action. (Photo: Cat Thomas)

The generational divide was also brought up in a bottle shop by Zhongxiao night market. Three friends in their 50s, two men and one woman, were hanging out while one worked. They declined to give their opinions on Han, saying that their friendship relies on not discussing politics. But all three agreed that young people in Taiwan tend to find their own way, drawing on resources such as the internet, and are less likely than earlier generations to simply conform to their parents’ politics. “You have to let them be,” observed one of the men. “It’s their personal decision.”

There are also residents who are entirely disinterested in the subject: In the 2018 mayoral election, 28% of eligible voters did not cast a vote. The apathy may remain for this group, despite the media furor over Han. Milk, a shop worker in her 30s, said she simply isn’t interested in politics and gives the topic little thought.

Most people I spoke to said they feared a recall vote would stir up arguments among families and friends, and those over 40 said they would avoid the topic if they suspect there may be a difference of opinion. Younger people suggested that if any of their peers do still support Han, they’ll unlikely to be open about it as they feel that they are in the minority.

At an old school bike repair shop in Kaohsiung’s Lingya district, a small recall petition table has been set up outside. The owner, a 55-year-old surnamed Zhuang, said he was prepared to take the risk of his political stance potentially harming his business. He feels that the majority of Kaohsiung people support the recall effort. Some customers have expressed displeasure, he said, “but I don’t care. I want to do this for Kaohsiung.”

Other Han supporters, he said, have politely discussed politics with him and have respected his choice to set up the petition signing station at his shop.

Zhuang said his tiny outpost saw 300 people sign petition sheets in just 10 days.

A recall signature station at Zhuang’s bike shop. (Photo: Cat Thomas)

WeCare Kaohsiung, one of the civic groups organizing the recall petition, said there are around 300 stations dotted around the city in venues such as legislators’, councilors’ and borough wardens’ offices as well as stations at shops.

The online campaign is well organized, with LINE and Facebook groups showing supporters how to print petition sheets at local convenience stores for registered voters who live outside Kaohsiung, and petition document files for residents living overseas.

Sean, a PhD candidate at Stanford University, set up a Facebook group for fellow Kaohsiung students and offered to organize posting petitions back for any students who wanted to sign.

Sean says he was motivated by Han’s closed-door speech at Stanford a few months after he was elected as Kaohsiung mayor. “During that speech, I was extremely surprised by how incapable and disorganized his speech and Q&A were,” he said. “He basically shunned every question and asked his team to answer for him. When asked some questions regarding disinformation or fake news, he just provided completely irrelevant answers.”

Polls from local media, including traditionally KMT-leaning outlets, show that over 50% of residents support the recall motion. For the second stage, organizers have 60 days to collect signatures from a further 228,000 supporters, although they are aiming for 300,000 to ensure a comfortable margin of error is met. According to WeCare and fellow recall group Citizens Mowing Action, the legal threshold was passed by January 11.

According to Article 83 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, the election commission must assess the validity of the recall petitions within 40 days of submission. While WeCare initiator Aaron Yin 尹立 has expressed misgivings about the neutrality of the Kaohsiung Election Commission which is headed up by Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Chen Hsiung-wen 陳雄文, should the threshold for valid petitions not be met, a 10-day grace period may be granted to obtain further petitions.

If the recall is established, Han is legally entitled to a 10-day period to present a statement of defense, after which the election commission has five days to set a date for a recall vote. At least 25% of the electorate, or around 570,000 people, must vote in the recall for it to be valid, and a simple majority must vote in favor of the recall motion for it to pass.

Results must be announced within seven days and if Han is recalled he must step down on the day the result is made public. Although there is a possibility of launching a recall lawsuit in the case of alleged mishandling of the recall by the election commission, this is unlikely as Han’s deputy mayor heads up the Kaohsiung election commission. If the recall is unchallenged, a by-election must be held within three months.

Should Han be subject to a recall vote, even if he resigns before it takes place, he will be legally barred from being a candidate for a similar level civil servant position for four years. However, should the recall fail to meet the 25% threshold, or a simple majority vote against the recall, no further recall action may be proposed against him for the remainder of his term in office.

Xiao Tan, a hairdresser, says Kaohsiung is fed up with Han Kuo-yu.

Whether the residents of Kaohsiung choose to oust their mayor remains to be seen. Xiao Tan, 40, who owns a hairdressing salon, said the mood among his customers suggests a recall may be successful.

“At first, many people wanted to give Han a chance,” he said. “Later most people do not like what he has done.”

“This is Kaohsiung! He should have been the mayor, not run away.”

(Cover photo courtesy of WeCare Kaohsiung)