Second round of recall votes targeting Kuomintang lawmakers fails

The second round of recall votes targeting seven Kuomintang party lawmakers in Taiwan failed on Saturday, with ballots showing that opposition to the recalls far outnumbered support.

The outcome marked another setback for the Democratic Progressive Party, which has now seen all 31 of its recall attempts against the opposition KMT legislators fall short. In July, the first round of recall votes against 26 KMT lawmakers also failed to pass.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Sunday that the results show Taiwan people have rejected the DPP's "political manipulation and divisive tactics".

"Any attempt at 'Taiwan independence' separatism is against the will of the people and doomed to fail," she added.

With the recalls defeated, the KMT continues to hold 52 of the 113-seat local legislature, while the smaller opposition Taiwan People's Party holds eight seats. The DPP remains with 51 seats.