Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/04/2020

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) A village chief in Yilan County was recalled Saturday, as the majority of residents voted against him because he had backed a mining project in the area.

According to the county's Election Commission, turnout at the polls was 67.75 percent, with 257 people voting to recall Zhonghua Village chief Hsu Cheng-tung (許正東), and 137 casting ballots against the motion.

If Hsu does not contest the vote, the commission will soon hold a by-election, which will be the second one scheduled this year in Taiwan to replace an elected official, following a June 6 recall vote against then Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) over broken election promises.

The central issue in the recall effort in Zhonghua Village is a proposal to launch a clay and silica rock mining project, which Hsu said he had supported only because experts had given the assurance that there was no risk of pollution.    [FULL  STORY]