TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — DPP Legislator Wang Shi-chien (王世堅) on Wednesday reiterated his call for DPP legislative caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) to step down, citing the party's failure in the recent recall campaign against KMT lawmakers.
Wang said the time for dialogue has passed, noting that many legislators have already tried to persuade Ker to resign, per Tai Sounds. He added that the moment for Ker to make a decision has arrived and expressed confidence that Ker would "make the right choice."
Wang said the DPP must respond to public expectations for reform. If the party fails to do so, he warned, it could face greater challenges moving forward.
Fellow DPP lawmaker Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) also voiced frustration on Tuesday, accusing Ker of frequently ignoring the advice of his colleagues in favor of his own experience and political judgment, per UDN. She pointed specifically to Ker's decision to instruct DPP lawmakers to forfeit their votes during the final round of voting on an amendment related to child abuse penalties, a move she said left many legislators confused and dissatisfied.
Chiu argued that forfeiting the vote contradicted earlier positions taken by some lawmakers and sparked a backlash from DPP supporters. She added that while lawmakers have tolerated Ker’s leadership to maintain party unity, there is now growing consensus that the current course must change.
However, DPP Legislator Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺) pushed back against Chiu’s criticism, stating that President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has called on the party to avoid unnecessary political infighting, per Tai Sounds. Lin said individual self-reflection, genuine reform, and a renewed focus on legislative work are key to restoring public trust.
Former DPP lawmaker Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) also weighed in, criticizing the party's inability to hold Ker accountable, per Storm Media. Citing a Formosa survey, he noted that Ker’s favorability rating barely surpasses that of the CCP, and the difference falls within the margin of error.
According to Lin, Ker’s favorability-to-unfavorability ratio was one-to-two before the failed recall effort and dropped to one-to-five afterward. He argued that Ker’s popularity lags far behind that of the DPP as a whole, making him a political liability.
