DPP's smears reflect badly on itself

That the recall of Keelung Mayor George Hsieh Kuo-liang was rejected after a vote on Sunday in the northern port city of Taiwan island indicates local residents have seen through the nature of the recall vote as a political farce staged by the Democratic Progressive Party.

A member of Kuomintang, Hsieh took up the position of Keelung mayor on Dec 25, 2022, having been a three-term legislator representing Keelung between 2005 and 2016.

The campaign to recall Hsieh was initiated by senior figures in the Democratic Progressive Party led by former Keelung mayor Lin Yu-chang, who is now the party's "secretary-general", in March following a dispute over the changing of the operator of Keelung ESquare Mall.

Ironically, Lin called on Hsieh and Kuomintang to address the demands of civic groups, instead of viewing the recall campaign as a political matter, which it is.

Basically, Hsieh has fulfilled his duty well, and continuously improved the public services and governance of Keelung since he took office. That's another reason why he could pull through the recall vote.

Although the DPP has tried to weaken people's trust in Hsieh citing the Keelung government's performance in response to a recent flood and even resorting to tricks to manipulate public opinion against him, people can see clearly that the Keelung local government tried its best in its response to the flood, which was caused by a hurricane, and subsequent relief work.

The harder the DPP tries to smear Hsieh, by bending facts to suit its own ends, the more its efforts will backfire. If the DPP really intends to win back people's support, it needs to turn its attention from winning partisan points to meeting the people's practical needs.

An important reason why Taiwan's economy and employment situation face mounting pressure these years is the DPP authorities' denial of the 1992 Consensus — that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China — and their willingness to do the United States' bidding as a proxy in its geopolitical game. This has only served to shrink the development space for the island.

As it has formed the government on the island, the DPP should devote itself to a practical modernization agenda instead of playing such games.

The DPP authorities brag about "democracy" in Taiwan. But, as the farce over Hsieh's recall vote demonstrates, it is the DPP authorities themselves that are denying people their democratic rights.