TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Democratic Progressive Party New Taipei City Councilor Li Yu-hsiang (李宇翔) publicly called for DPP Chair and President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and legislative caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) to resign following the party’s poor performance in Saturday’s recall elections but quickly retracted the statement amid internal backlash.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Li, who belongs to the DPP faction Taiwan Forward (湧言會), argued that former DPP Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) should not have taken the fall for the party’s defeat, per ETtoday. He called for Lai to resign as party chair to focus on national governance and demanded a full Cabinet reshuffle.
Li also said Ker should resign as an at-large legislator, accusing him of losing touch with public sentiment. The post was deleted shortly afterward.
DPP official and Taiwan Forward member Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) announced his withdrawal from the faction upon learning of Li’s remarks, per Liberty Times. Chang emphasized that the party must remain unified in the face of pressure from the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party.
On Tuesday, Taiwan Forward issued a statement reaffirming its support for Lai and the current Cabinet, per ETtoday. The faction emphasized the need for unity in confronting domestic and external challenges, including obstruction from the TPP-KMT alliance, climate-related disasters, threats from China, and shifting global dynamics.
The faction urged the party to face the recall election setback collectively and avoid internal division.
Li later reposted a revised version of his original statement, omitting direct criticism of senior party leadership, per Tai Sounds. According to Liberty Times, Li had not consulted Taiwan Forward before making his initial post, and his comments did not reflect the faction’s position.
The report noted that Li amended his post after receiving a call from senior members of the faction. However, Chang’s swift public disavowal of Li’s remarks was seen by some in the faction as unnecessarily escalating the incident and prolonging public attention on internal disagreements.
