Overview

• All 24 Kuomintang legislators targeted in the July 26 recall retained their seats, leaving the KMT-TPP coalition with a 62-51 majority in the 113-member Legislative Yuan.
• DPP Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang resigned in acknowledgment of the defeat, leaving President Lai Ching-te’s defense reform and budget agenda stalled.
• Experts say the result underscores voter preference for divided government and increases pressure on the DPP to negotiate key legislation with the opposition bloc.
• China’s Taiwan Affairs Office accused the DPP of “authoritarianism in the guise of democracy,” a charge forcefully rejected by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council.
• With the opposition assured of veto power, efforts to boost defense spending to counter Chinese military pressure now hinge on fragile cross-party compromise.