Experts: DPP's manipulation runs against Taiwan people's will

In rejecting an attempt to recall opposition lawmakers, voters in Taiwan demonstrated that the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) political manipulation ran against the desire of the people for peace and communication, experts have said.

The Chinese Kuomintang party (KMT) scored a sweeping victory in Saturday's vote, retaining all 24 seats and thwarting a bid to reshape the balance of power in the local legislature in Taiwan, where the KMT and the smaller opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP) currently hold a narrow majority.

The unprecedented campaign — launched by civil groups backed by the "pro-independence" DPP, who held a legislative majority from 2016 to 2024, aimed at unseating opposition lawmakers in a bid to regain control of the legislature. The 113-seat legislature is made up of 52 KMT members, 51 from the DPP, eight from the TPP and two independents.

Before the vote, Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te claimed the island was "a country" and promoted "anti-China" sentiments in a planned 10-part series of speeches, which he has been touring around Taiwan since June. So far this year, the DPP has also greatly obstructed cross-Strait exchanges, including targeting pro-mainland politicians, groups and individuals such as mainland residents who have married people in Taiwan.

Responding to the outcome, Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Sunday that the DPP, driven by its pursuit of "Taiwan independence" and avarice for one-party monopoly, repeatedly stirred up political strife at the expense of Taiwan people's well-being.

The DPP has resorted to every means to suppress political dissent, create "green terror" and deepen social division, fully revealing its hypocritical nature of "fake democracy, real authoritarianism", Chen said.

"The outcome showed that the DPP's political manipulation runs against the will of the people," he added.

Xu Xiaoquan, a deputy researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Taiwan Studies, said that the DPP mistakenly believed that by inciting cross-Strait confrontation, they could rally a so-called "unified will" on the island. In reality, Xu said, their manipulation of public opinion has backfired and been engulfed by public sentiment.

While the Taiwan people simply desire to live peaceful and prosperous lives, since taking office, the Lai administration has manipulated the "two-state" fallacy, vigorously restricting cross-Strait exchanges, Xu added. This has caused unbearable suffering among the people on the island, who have long been fed up with the DPP's arrogance and irresponsibility.

Hsiao Hsu-tsen, executive director of the Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation, which is based in Taiwan, said: "People in Taiwan have shown wisdom at the critical moment by rejecting anti-China approaches that would divide the society and harm Taiwan's interests.

"This represents the most genuine and powerful public opinion in Taiwan, opposing the politics of hatred and advocating for peace across the Taiwan Strait," he added.

The Labor Party in Taiwan said on Sunday that the DPP's policy of "resisting China to protect Taiwan" has driven cross-Strait relations towards conflict, escalating the risk of war, making the public anxious about military expansion and raising the looming specter of warfare.

"The rejection this time reflects the public's demand for stable cross-Strait exchanges, the need to mend sentiments among compatriots, as well as a call for peace and a rejection of military confrontation," it stated.