His Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) though, which supports Taiwan's independence from China, failed to get a majority in parliament. The opposition was thus, by controlling the budget, able to prevent Lai Ching-te from furthering a split from the Chinese homeland.

Like many recent election winners in so called democracies Lai Ching-te set out to manipulate the system to win powers the voters had been unwilling to concede to him. He organized a recall campaign against dozens of opposition lawmakers in the hope to gain a majority in parliament.

The New York Times reporting of it (archived) seemed to be in favor of this:

Voters in Taiwan face a critical decision on Saturday: whether to throw out 24 opposition lawmakers they elected just last year, in an extraordinary recall campaign that could put more power in the president's hands but add to tensions with Beijing.

The vote threatens to flip the legislative balance in favor of President Lai Ching-te, who wants Taiwan to forge a future separate from China, against an opposition that favors closer ties with Beijing.
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This weekend, two dozen Nationalist Party lawmakers face recall votes; an additional seven will next month.

To supporters, the "great recall" campaign reflects the vigor of Taiwan's democracy, which emerged in the 1980s after decades of authoritarian rule under the Nationalist Party. Although a successful campaign would help Mr. Lai, many activists promoting the recalls say they are acting independently.

"We're building a decentralized grass-roots movement," said Molly Kuo, an organizer of one of the recall efforts in New Taipei. "We're witnessing a deepening of democracy."

A "decentralized grass-roots movement" that is running a well organized, millions of dollars campaign against parliament members of one specific party ???

Recall of a significant number of opposition lawmakers would make it much easier for Mr. Lai to push his agenda, which includes shifting Taiwan's economy further from China. He could also appoint his preferred judges to Taiwan's high court.