On July 26th, a third of Taiwan will vote on recall referendums (大罷免) for 24 legislators throughout Taiwan.

Our guest is Nathan F. Batto, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica. Taiwan watchers also know him as the writer of Frozen Garlic wordpress on Taiwanese elections. 

We discuss how we got here: the KMT/TPP coalition in the legislature, the passionate activists who have been organizing the nation-wide movements; how the recall threshold was lowered in 2016 after the Sunflower Movement; the social cost of participating in recall bids, and how that affected the success rate of bids in cities versus in rural communities; And the impact of a perpetual election cycle. 

Facts & figures:
This recall will affect 24 legislators, ie: more than a quarter of elected seats. (Taiwan’s legislative assembly is made of 113 seats. 79 are elected directly by constituents in districts. Another 24 are composed of party seats as decided by proportion of party votes.)
All 24 legislators up for a recall on July 26th are from the Kuomingtang (Nationalist Party, KMT).
To meet the recall threshold, number of votes in favor of removing a lawmaker must exceed the number of votes against; and surpass 25% of eligible voters in that district.
By-elections will be held in the fall. If the DDP gains six seats in the legislature as a result, they will gain majority.

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Emily Y. Wu | Twitter @emilyywu

A Ghost Island Media production: www.ghostisland.media

On July 26th, a third of Taiwan will vote on recall referendums (大罷免) for 24 legislators throughout Taiwan. Our guest is Nathan F. Batto, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica. Taiwan watchers also know him as the writer of&nbsp;<a href="https://frozengarlic.wordpress.com/">Frozen Garlic</a> wordpress on Taiwanese elections. We discuss how we got here: the KMT/TPP coalition in the legislature, the passionate activists who have been organizing the nation-wide movements; how the recall threshold was lowered in 2016 after the Sunflower Movement; the social cost of participating in recall bids, and how that affected the success rate of bids in cities versus in rural communities; And the impact of a perpetual election cycle.&nbsp; Facts &amp; figures:
<ul>
<li>This recall will affect 24 legislators, ie: more than a quarter of elected seats. (Taiwan&rsquo;s legislative assembly is made of 113 seats. 79 are elected directly by constituents in districts. Another 24 are composed of party seats as decided by proportion of party votes.)</li>
<li>All 24 legislators up for a recall on July 26th are from the Kuomingtang (Nationalist Party, KMT).</li>
<li>To meet the recall threshold, number of votes in favor of removing a lawmaker must exceed the number of votes against; and surpass 25% of eligible voters in that district.</li>
<li>By-elections will be held in the fall. If the DDP gains six seats in the legislature as a result, they will gain majority.</li>
</ul>
Support Ghost Island Media by donating on Patreon&nbsp;<a href="http://patreon.com/taiwan">http://patreon.com/taiwan</a> Follow and tag us on social media: Ghost Island Media | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ghostislandme/">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ghostislandme/">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ghostislandme">Twitter</a> Emily Y. Wu | Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/emilyywu">@emilyywu</a> A Ghost Island Media production:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ghostisland.media">www.ghostisland.media</a>

A current affairs podcast on Taiwan and the world. Every episode, we invite a journalist to a conversation with an expert to get the big picture context of what we need to know. These are global issues, and this is The Taiwan Take. 

Nominated for Best News Podcast at 2020 Excellent Journalism Award in Taiwan. Produced by Ghost Island Media in Taipei, Taiwan.

2020年台灣卓越新聞獎 Podcast 新聞獎入圍者．這是一個專門討論臺灣時事的訪談性英文節目， 以「縱觀世界議題，以臺灣觀點論述」為主軸，由記者採訪跨領域專家、名人與來賓等，第一手將臺灣的故事推向國際．

鬼島之音製作播出．

A current affairs podcast on Taiwan and the world. Every episode, we invite a journalist to a conversation with an expert to get the big picture context of what we need to know. These are global issues, and this is The Taiwan Take. Nominated for Best News Podcast at 2020 Excellent Journalism Award in Taiwan.&nbsp;Produced by Ghost Island Media in Taipei, Taiwan. 2020年台灣卓越新聞獎 Podcast 新聞獎入圍者．這是一個專門討論臺灣時事的訪談性英文節目， 以「縱觀世界議題，以臺灣觀點論述」為主軸，由記者採訪跨領域專家、名人與來賓等，第一手將臺灣的故事推向國際． 鬼島之音製作播出．

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