By Carol Lin 林志潔
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have used their majority in the legislature to push through unconstitutional laws. Several government operations have been forced to halt as a result of reckless budget cuts and freezes — thus, citizens have been left with no choice, but to initiate a recall of unfit legislators.
Taiwanese live busy lives, working and taking care of their families. My fellow volunteers and I have been working on recall activities, which have taken up the majority of our free time — we walk through the streets and alleyways, distributing petitions one-by-one and double-checking the accuracy of each document that comes our way. We work without pay or compensation, but we are driven by the belief that our country is our own to save.
If Taiwanese want to continue enjoying daily essentials and conveniences — gas, running water, comprehensive healthcare, access to Google, Gmail, Facebook and Threads, and an environment where voting and elections are as natural as breathing — we have to pay attention.
There legislators that could not care less about any of those things. They are using every method at their disposal to destroy our precious way of life.
There is a term often used in law and politics called “free riding” — those who benefit from the efforts of others while being unwilling to contribute themselves. They simply join in to reap the rewards of others’ struggles.
Perhaps many citizens today have a similar way of thinking: “The Legislative Yuan is a mess, but signing a recall petition is too much of a hassle. I can just wait until the recall vote is actually held.”
However, democracy does not allow for free riders. If you do not get involved, the vote simply would not happen.
Without a second stage, there cannot be a third stage. Please stand up and sign the recall petitions.
Carol Lin is a professor in the school of technology law at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
