TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Citizens across Taiwan cast ballots Saturday (July 26) in a high-stakes recall election targeting opposition legislators. Ho Jui-ying (何瑞英), mother of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), drew attention as she arrived at Hsinchu Municipal Min Fu Primary School (新竹市民富國小) accompanied by Taiwan People's Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安).
Ho's daughter Ko Mei-lan (柯美蘭) assisted the elderly woman as she briefly greeted supporters before entering the polling station. Reporters pressed Ho about whether she voted to protect her son's political legacy, prompting Huang Kuo-chang to intervene sharply. "Don't ask her this. You are setting up a trap for her to fall into," he declared, shielding the family matriarch from potentially damaging questions.
Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), Ko Wen-je's wife, arrived at Jinou Girls High School (金甌女中) in Taipei accompanied by Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強). Chen voiced frustration over the Taipei High Administrative Court's decision barring her detained husband from participating in the recall vote. The ruling appeared designed to benefit the governing party's interests, she suggested, lamenting that she cast her ballot alone after years of voting alongside her husband.
Saturday's recall election carried enormous stakes for Taiwan's political balance, potentially shifting legislative control from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party coalition to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Polling stations closed at 4 p.m. as vote counting began across the island. Early results suggested most recall campaigns targeting opposition lawmakers appeared headed for failure, preserving the current legislative gridlock.