TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) will not support the Kuomintang’s (KMT) proposed increase to the recall threshold, though the party said it does support changes to the process of initiating recalls of public officials.

Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said at a press conference on Tuesday (July 2) that the TPP does not support an increased threshold, but supports changes to the signature gathering process that initiates a recall, per CNA. The current 25% threshold for a recall has been criticized by opposition parties as being too low, and a KMT-drafted amendment seeking to change it will be discussed in the legislature on Thursday.

Huang said that to ensure recall campaigns are established under the right circumstances, his party will submit its own amendment that “makes the signing process more rigorous.” Huang said the amendments would refer to the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, but did not specify which articles.

The act states that for a president or their deputy to be recalled one-quarter of the Legislative Yuan must agree to the recall proposal and two-thirds must confirm it. Following that, more than 50% of Taiwan’s voters must participate in the recall vote, and more than 50% must vote in favor.

The threshold for electoral recall of public officials in Taiwan was lowered to its current 25% in 2016, though to initiate a public proposal for a recall requires only 1% of voters to register support via signature. KMT lawmakers say the recall law is being weaponized by political opponents, pointing to a campaign to oust Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) that recently received enough signatures to go to a public vote.

Organizers of the recall campaign to oust Hsieh deny the KMT's claims of partisanship and say they want the Keelung mayor recalled because of incompetent leadership.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators have also said they do not support the KMT’s proposal to increase the threshold for recall. DPP Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) repeated on Tuesday that her party will block the amendments following a caucus meeting.