TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's main opposition party has escalated its campaign to remove the sitting president from office. Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) declared Monday (April 28) that his party would throw its full organizational weight behind the second phase of a petition seeking to recall President Lai Ching-te (賴清德). The opposition leader underscored the petition's importance by announcing it would become a factor in evaluating the performance of KMT officials and representatives.
The KMT chairman sharply rebuked President Lai for recent comments suggesting opposition parties should direct their protests toward Beijing's Tiananmen Square (天安門廣場) instead of against his administration. Chu characterized these remarks as illogical and accused the president of surrendering Taiwan's sovereignty while failing to address citizens' concerns. With President Lai approaching his one-year anniversary in office on May 20, Chu claimed the administration has abandoned any pretense of national unity in favor of systematically suppressing political opposition.
The opposition leader issued a directive to KMT officials at all levels of government to focus their petition efforts in constituencies traditionally loyal to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, commonly referred to as "pro-green" districts in Taiwan's color-coded political landscape. Chu stressed the strategic importance of coordinating resources across district boundaries to maximize the petition's impact. He further pledged that petition results would be made public, framing this transparency as both a political milestone and an accountability measure for KMT representatives' commitment to the recall effort. ★