Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) announced on Friday they would try to impeach the island’s leader, William Lai Ching-te, according to reports from Taiwanese media.
Fu Kun-chi, the convenor of the KMT caucus in Taiwan’s parliament, accused Lai of undermining constitutional norms and behaving in an authoritarian manner.
“Lai must step down and Taiwan must not allow the emergence of figures like Yuan Shikai or Cao Kun,” Fu said, according to Taiwanese newspaper China Times.
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Yuan was a dominant military figure who emerged after the fall of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). He became president of the Republic of China but then dismantled Republican institutions and crowned himself emperor in 1915. Cao Kun later became president through blatant vote-buying.
Huang Kuo-chang, the convenor of the TPP caucus, echoed the sentiment.
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“Steps must be taken to prevent Lai from turning into another Yuan,” Huang said, according to China Times.
The call to impeach the island’s leader is more likely a symbolic gesture than a practical possibility. It would require the vast majority – at least 76 legislators – to agree. However, the opposition camp only holds 62 seats in the 113-seat chamber.