A controversial reform bill in the Taiwanese parliament has increased tensions. Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wanted to prevent the majority-pro-China opposition parliament from voting on bills restricting the powers of the Constitutional Court and making it difficult to dismiss state officials.
THEY barricaded the entrance to the hall and the rostrum with chairs.
Deputies of the ruling party, who came to the parliament at night, barricaded the entrance of the General Assembly hall and the rostrum with seats.
SODA BOTTLES FLYED IN THE AIR
The situation turned into a battlefield when members of the main opposition Nationalist Party (Koumintang/KMT) and opposition Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) tried to enter the hall. Opposition MPs pushed seats and chairs and threw plastic and soda bottles.
Thousands of pro-government people gathered outside the parliament building and protested the draft laws, chanting the slogan “Defend Taiwan”.
In the statement made by the ruling party, “If the Nationalist Party (Koumintang/KMT) passes the changes by force, Taiwan’s self-governance mechanism will be eliminated and will also cause significant and irreversible damage to Taiwan’s civil society and democratic system. Taiwan’s democracy has been violated and “At a time when it is being harmed, we must stand up and take action.”
(UAV)