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Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) strongly condemned China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) for making politically charged statements about Taiwan's ruling party following the failure of recent recall votes targeting 24 opposition lawmakers, Taipei Times reported.
According to the Taipei Times, TAO spokesperson Chen Binhua criticised Taiwan's ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), on Sunday, claiming it had lost public support and accusing it of manipulating politics to maintain its dominance. He said the DPP promotes "Taiwan independence," fuels division, and suppresses dissent, revealing what he called "fake democracy" and real authoritarianism. Chen also argued that the unsuccessful recall votes showed widespread dissatisfaction with the DPP's hold on power, the Taipei Times reported. In response, the MAC rejected Beijing's comments, saying the Chinese authorities lack democratic legitimacy and therefore have no place commenting on Taiwan's democratic practices. The council emphasised that the recall vote process is a legitimate part of Taiwan's constitutional framework and reflects the maturity of its civil society. MAC added that recall outcomes are shaped by local electoral dynamics and individual lawmakers' performance, not by party politics, the Taipei Times reported. It reaffirmed Taiwan's commitment to national sovereignty, democratic freedoms, and resistance to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), asserting that this reflects the true will of the Taiwanese public. According to the Taipei Times, the Legislative watchdog Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) also criticised the TAO's remarks, urging Beijing to introduce similar democratic mechanisms, such as recall voting, if it wants credibility in such debates. CCW director Leo Chang highlighted the irony of China, one of the most authoritarian states globally, accusing others of authoritarianism, especially under President Xi Jinping, who changed the constitution to extend his rule indefinitely. Chang emphasised that, despite the recall attempts not succeeding, they still demonstrated the vibrancy of Taiwan's democracy. He noted that many DPP supporters were not eligible to vote in those districts and cautioned the CCP against misinterpreting the outcome. "The CCP should not misread the situation. Regardless of the result, the recall votes demonstrated the precious nature of Taiwan's democracy and that the people of Taiwan do not yearn for China's authoritarian system," Chang concluded, as quoted by the Taipei Times. (ANI)
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