TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), secretary-general of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨), announced his resignation Monday (July 28) following the party's disappointing performance in recent recall elections. The veteran politician cited the party's failure to achieve expected results in the high-stakes political contests as the primary reason for his departure. Lin's resignation represents a significant political development within Taiwan's governing party following the unsuccessful recall campaigns.
The DPP had harbored higher expectations for the first wave of recall elections, which concluded Saturday (July 26), but achieved no successful removals. None of the targeted officials, including Hsinchu Mayor Kao Hung-an (高虹安) and 24 opposition Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) legislators, were successfully removed from office. The comprehensive failure across multiple recall campaigns represented a significant setback for the ruling party's political strategy.
Lin acknowledged his willingness to accept full responsibility for the party's shortcomings in a Facebook post published Monday. He stated that if the DPP failed to meet societal or supporter expectations in any areas, he would bear complete responsibility for those failures. The outgoing secretary-general also praised the volunteers he encountered during the recall campaigns, commending their selflessness and unwavering dedication to Taiwan.
Lin told reporters shortly after the recall results were announced Saturday that the recall campaign shouldn't be "narrowed down to a duel between political parties, or else you will be sorry to the civic organizations and countless volunteers." When questioned about the opposition KMT's proposal to distribute NT$10,000 (around US$340) cash payments to citizens, Lin acknowledged that the cash distribution promise had significantly influenced voting patterns. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$29.4)
