On July 24th, 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 24th 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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Michael Caster (Head of Global China Programme) and I-Chen Liu (Asia Programme Officer) are researchers from the international non-profit organization ARTICLE 19, whose report “Cybersecurity with Chinese Characteristics” (2025) outlines PRC’s influence over cybersecurity norms in 3 Indo-Pacific countries: Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam; and with a Taiwan alternative.

The Digital Silk Road is an umbrella concept that includes policies, priorities, tools, technologies, and tactics of a digital nature under the larger Belt and Road Initiative. Launched in 2015, it’s how PRC promotes its cybersecurity and digital governance norms and technical standards across the world.

It does this through public and private partnerships with Chinese tech companies that provide capacity-building initiatives: 5G cyber security test labs ​​in Malaysia, mobile payment in Thailand, data centers in Nepal, surveillance cameras in Phnom Penh and Kathmandu, submarine cables in Cambodia, and satellite systems for Thailand. While receiving such technology, recipient countries have also adopted PRC-style censorship and regulations into their legal framework. Examples include Vietnam’s 2018 cybersecurity law, which regulates aspects including content moderation and data localization.

The PRC is now pushing for multilateral cooperation through institutions like the UN, ASEAN, and other state-led forums. It has established additional bodies like the Global Security Initiative, Global Development Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative to further the standardization of PRC-style norms.

The researchers warn of the impact on democracy and freedom of speech this could have on the recipient country. “When China talks about multilateralism, they're doing it as a renouncing multi-stakeholderism approach; Denying civil society, the tech sector, academia, other independent actors. They're denying them a seat at the table”, says Caster.

The PRC-style of digital government becomes a toolkit for the authoritarian actor on how to use cybersecurity laws in the name of promoting safety or national security; but it’s actually introducing potentially humanitarian disaster laws that will impact the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy.

Notable is the upcoming United Nations Cybercrime Convention in Vietnam, dubbed The Hanoi Convention, which has been rescheduled from July to October, 2025.

The Cybersecurity with Chinese Characteristics report ends with Taiwan’s democratic model of defending cybersecurity, which ensures the participation of civil society, as an alternative model to curb digital authoritarianism.

This report follows “The Digital Silk Road: China and the Rise of Digital Repression in the Indo-Pacific” (2024) which includes case studies from Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, and Thailand.

To access this report: https://www.article19.org/resources/china-taiwan-cybersecurity/

Support Ghost Island Media: http://patreon.com/taiwan
Follow and tag us on social media:
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Emily Y. Wu | Twitter @emilyywu

A Ghost Island Media production: www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mimi Yu (尤虹文) is the author of three memoirs, including the 2019 title “The Unforgetting Body” in which she details her recovery from depression.

Yu is a cellist who has worked with musicians like Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Katz, and Robert Levin. She played cello while at The Juilliard School and has a B.A. in economics from Harvard University. Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Mimi Yu went to the U.S. at age 15 to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

In her mid-twenties, Yu was impacted by severe depression and had to stop performing.

We discuss her path to healing; finding Buddhism, Taosim, the importance of eating well and listening to your body, trailing spouses. She’s now a public speaker, a music healer, and a coach on mental wellness.

“There’s a beauty in every person we meet, and when they come to me, there must be a reason, and I am just here to support and to love, and sometimes that love awakens the deep love they have for themselves inside. And when that happens, then healing happens.”

“The Unforgetting Body” 因為身體記得：告別憂鬱症的療癒之路 (尤虹文 / 天下文化 / 2019) ：https://bookzone.cwgv.com.tw/book/BBP445

Her podcast at Global View Magazine (in Mandarin)【尤虹文的療癒時光】：https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16bG3gZ12o/

Support Ghost Island Media by donating on Patreon http://patreon.com/taiwan

Follow and tag us on social media:
Ghost Island Media | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Emily Y. Wu | Twitter @emilyywu

A Ghost Island Media production: www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/Taiwan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.