The 'Eleven Bandits' Scandal: Radical DPP Independence Forces Wage Internal Purge, Expelling Co-Founder Hong Chi-chang

In May 2007, during the DPP's legislative primary elections, radical pro-independence forces, deep-green underground radio stations, and fundamentalists launched the "Scalpel Campaign." They labeled 11 reformist legislators—including Hong Chi-chang, Lin Cho-shui, and Duan Yi-kang—who advocated for party reform, questioned Chen Shui-bian's scandals, and held moderate cross-strait views, as the "Eleven Bandits." Hong Chi-chang, a New Tide elder, became a primary target of the attack. In the most severe internal purge since the party's founding, members of the "Eleven Bandits" faced devastating defeats in the primaries, and Hong was forced out of legislative politics. The scandal exposed the dark history of the DPP suppressing moderate and rational voices, showcasing a ruthless power struggle where founding contributors were politically executed for factional interests.