By Chia Feimao | 2025-07-25

Chinese state media and affiliated social media accounts have been unusually vocal in defending 24 opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers facing recall in Taiwan, sparking concerns that Beijing is seeking to interfere in the island's democratic process.

The recall campaign, initiated by civic groups earlier this year, targets KMT legislators accused of "pandering to Beijing at the expense of Taiwan's interests." The vote is set for July 26.

After the 2024 presidential election, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) retained the presidency. But it holds only 51 of the legislature's 113 seats.

The KMT holds 52 seats, joined by the Taiwan People's Party with eight and two independents, creating a hostile legislative environment for President Lai Ching-te's administration.

Opposition lawmakers have blocked or slashed funding for key government initiatives, including defense spending aimed at deterring China, as well as energy and tech investments. The Constitutional Court ruled an opposition-backed expansion of legislative power unconstitutional last October.

KMT caucus leader Fu Kun-chi in particular has become a symbolic figure among those targeted.

In April 2024, Fu led a 16-member KMT delegation to Beijing to meet Wang Huning, a top adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Fu had traveled to Hong Kong in February and claimed to be representing Taiwan's "central government," thus provoking a fierce backlash from the pro-independence camp and a wave of recall drives nationwide.

Beijing speaks out

Chinese officials and state media outlets have denounced the recall campaign, Reuters reported July 22.

China's People's Daily in April accused Lai of exploiting recalls in a bid to achieve "green dictatorship," referring to the DPP's party color.

Chinese state media and affiliated social media accounts released about 425 posts in the first half year denouncing the recall effort and its supporters, according to the Taiwan Information Environment Research Center (IORG).

"All Chinese official narratives should be subjected to close scrutiny," said IORG co-director Yu Chih-hao in a speech on Beijing's external propaganda in Taiwan on July 22.

Beijing is pushing a worldview that questions the legitimacy of Taiwan's recall movement, Yu said. He urged the public to consider whether it is unwittingly swallowing pro-Beijing narratives.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council on July 23 condemned Beijing for "open and blatant interference" and demanded it "stay out of Taiwan's democratic processes."

While China's propaganda apparatus usually operates in a decentralized fashion, it can rapidly obey top-level directives, Li Chih-te, former director of the Asia Fact Check Lab and an analyst of Chinese information warfare, noted.

"When something like this happens, they will absolutely activate the system," said Li, who spoke alongside You on July 22.

He pointed to China's response to an announcement of US investment by chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in March.

Within a week, eight Douyin (TikTok) accounts linked to Fujian province's media groups released 99 short videos blasting the DPP and Taiwanese-US relations.

"The political agenda becomes crystal clear the moment they act," Li said.

Countering Chinese influence

The recall movement sheds light on the geographical distribution of Chinese influence -- stronger in northern and central Taiwan.

"The lawmakers targeted for recall all come from districts long infiltrated by China's United Front operations," Lin Tsung-hung, a sociologist at Academia Sinica, who also spoke at the July 22 event, referring to Beijing's efforts to subvert Taiwan.

Now the Great Recall has made one thing clear to politicians in Taiwan -- "participating in United Front activities with China will stain their political careers," Lin said.

Not a single KMT lawmaker or local official attended this year's "Straits Forum" in June in Xiamen, China, he said. The forum is an annual Beijing-backed platform known for its propaganda value.

"That was unprecedented," Lin said of current KMT officials' absence. Ma Ying-jeou, a former Taiwanese president from the KMT, did attend.

Regardless of whether the recall campaign succeeds in unseating a majority of its targets, observers say it already marks a milestone for Taiwan's democracy.

Civil society has fired a warning shot at pro-Beijing politicians, they note.

The recall movement, Bo Tedards, a longtime observer of Taiwanese politics, wrote in The Diplomat, has "provided a platform for citizens to concretely express their displeasure at the performance of the Legislative Yuan."

Even if they fail, he emphasized, growing public awareness of foreign influence and the experience of confronting politicians "will act as a deterrent against future bad behavior."