Taiwan is set to hold an unprecedented mass recall vote on Saturday that could remove dozens of opposition lawmakers who are accused by critics of being "pro-Communist" and beholden to Beijing. 

The 24 legislators listed in the upcoming vote are all from Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang Party (KMT), which advocates closer economic ties with China and has control over the current legislature together with the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP).

"The mass recall is about the people of Taiwan standing up and saying we don't want pro-China forces," a recall campaigner told DW at one of the pro-recall rallies.

The political tension comes as China has stepped up military exercises around Taiwan, while continuing to pressure and threaten what it calls the "pro-independence" Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led by President Lai Ching-te, who took office last year.

In response, Taiwan has been stepping up its defense capabilities against China's military aggression.

Beijing claims self-ruling Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to "reunify" the island with the mainland.

Why is Taiwan holding a recall vote?

Taiwan's legislature has been deadlocked since the last general election in January 2024.

While the ruling DPP secured a third consecutive presidential term, the KMT, along with the smaller TPP, won a combined majority in the legislature.

The KMT-TPP coalition has since blocked many of the government's key priorities and passed a series of controversial bills that critics have said could undermine Taiwan's democracy.

The first public backlash exploded in May 2024, with tens of thousands gathered outside the Legislative Yuan to protest a set of contested "parliamentary reform" bills.

Recall campaigns then started to circulate earlier this year, initiated and run by civic groups who are outraged at opposition lawmakers' moves of freezing and slashing critical parts of the government budget, including defense spending.

How does the recall work?

According to Taiwan's constitution, a recall vote can be called after the first year of a representative taking office, requiring a petition signed by a constituency's registered voters. 

Over the course of several months, enough petition signatures were gathered to trigger recall votes through a two-stage process, which requires 1% of constituents in the first round and 10% in the second.

Recall campaigns against DPP lawmakers, on the other hand, failed to collect enough valid signatures.

Right now, petitions targeting 31 KMT legislators and one TPP mayor have cleared the threshold. This means 24 of them, around one-fifth of all lawmakers in parliament, will face a vote in their constituencies on July 26.

The result could potentially shift the legislative balance, allowing the ruling DPP party to take back control of the Yuan.

But the push for mass recalls has marked a deepening political division in Taiwan.

"Aren't we supposed to be a democracy? There should be forces that keep the ruling party in check," a protester told DW anonymously at one of the anti-recall gatherings held alongside the recall campaigns in recent months.

What has China said?

The Chinese government has responded to Taiwan's mass recall vote by accusing the ruling DPP of "political manipulation."

Chinese state media also described the DPP as a "dictatorship" in many cross-platform posts mentioning the term "recall" in the first half of 2025, according to the Taiwanese research organization IORG.

The Chinese government openly abhors the DPP and has labeled President Lai a "dangerous separatist." Beijing has completely cut off dialogue with Taipei since the DPP took power.

Meanwhile, politicians from the KMT, which strongly denies being pro-Beijing, regularly visit China to meet with officials of the Chinese Communist Party.

The recall movement has been described by campaigners as an effort to oppose China's influence and defend Taiwan's democracy.

In the run-up to the recall vote, Lai has urged fellow DPP lawmakers to actively support civil groups campaigning to recall KMT lawmakers.

"China's military drills are something that really resonates with the broader public in Taiwan," said Austin Wang, an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"The pro-recall side is using the 'resist China, protect Taiwan' message in hopes of drawing in more swing voters," he told DW.

What's at stake for Taiwan?

Since the Lai administration took office in May 2024, the average daily number of Chinese military aircraft entering airspace near Taiwan has more than doubled, according to data from Taiwan's Defense Ministry.

However, most KMT and anti-recall supporters have criticized the DPP for playing the same "China card" again and again to regain control of the legislature while neglecting domestic issues.

The political split reflects a wider lack of political unity amid a growing military threat from China.

"If the mass recall has deepened divisions in Taiwanese society, it would be a great opportunity for the Chinese Communist Party to look for excuses and cracks to push forward with its agenda toward Taiwan," said Chen-Dong Tso, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.

Wang from the University of Nevada contends that the current political division is still largely driven by disagreements on domestic issues.

"With the legislature at a standstill, the mass recall is one form of solution," he said. It remains unclear whether the polarization has weakened Taiwan's capabilities to defend itself against a potential Chinese invasion.

What could happen next?

If the recall votes succeed, by-elections will be held later this year to fill the vacant seats.

To shift the balance of power in the legislature, the DPP must not only recall KMT lawmakers but also win at least six of those seats in the by-elections.

While recalled legislators are barred from running again, it's still possible for the KMT to retain those seats by nominating other candidates who have support in their constituencies.

Both China and the United States, Taiwan's key security partner, could be closely watching how the situation plays out.

"I think China, for now, is more likely to stay in a holding pattern," Wang said. "But if the recall really does succeed, I believe Beijing will follow its usual playbook and ramp up its military exercises further."

DW correspondent Chou Yu-Chun contributed to this report

Edited by: Wesley Rahn