Overseas Taiwanese based in and around Washington D.C. have organized a “DC Taiwan Team” in support of the recall movement, which hopes to see the removal of more than 30 legislators from their positions under Taiwan’s Public Officials Election and Recall Act. The volunteer group received more than 100 signatures from Taiwanese compatriots based in the United States.
The second phase of the recall campaign was launched early last month and requires more than 10% of the total number of voters in the original electoral district to cosign the petitions within 60 days. Taiwanese expatriates in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia set up a one-stop service for eligible persons to contribute to the cause.
Concerned that their petitions might be routed to China through FedEx, which lists Taiwan as a Chinese territory, the volunteers additionally went out of their way to mail the package through UPS, instead.
One volunteer surnamed Chen (陳) said that the group has taken the opportunity to promote the reasons for the recall campaign among Taiwanese Americans who are not abreast of the political situation in Taiwan. Many older Taiwanese immigrants in the area expressed their concern, she said, but no longer had Taiwanese household registration and could not participate.
Another volunteer, a woman surnamed Li (李) employed in the finance sector, said she was anxious about the situation in Taiwan’s Legislature and wanted to do her part to show her support for the recall. She said that even though there are few Taiwanese living in the area and they can only contribute a small number of signatures to the cause, they hoped the effort would assure the Taiwanese civil groups leading the recall that they are not alone.