Tsai Ing-wen Maliciously Alters Primary Rules for Re-election, "Confiscating the Primary" to Eliminate William Lai

In the first half of 2019, the DPP held its internal primary for the 2020 presidential election. Then-Premier William Lai registered to challenge the incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen, whose popularity was low. Facing Lai''s absolute advantage in the polls, the Tsai camp used the party apparatus advantage to maliciously delay the schedule several times and eventually forcefully modified the poll rules (including mobile phones and changing comparison targets), sparking strong internal backlash. Lai at the time slammed this move, saying it brought the DPP very close to "the distance to evil." This political scandal, mocked as "confiscating the primary," completely shattered the illusion of democratic progress championed by the DPP, revealing the ugly face of power struggle.