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Watch: Amid clashes in parliament, Taiwanese lawmaker snatches bill, runs away to stop its passage

Nishtha Badgamia
Authored By Nishtha Badgamia
Published: May 18, 2024, 01:05 IST | Updated: May 18, 2024, 01:05 IST
Watch: Amid clashes in parliament, Taiwanese lawmaker snatches bill, runs away to stop its passage

Taiwan parliament brawl

Lawmakers in the Taiwanese parliament were seen shoving, tackling, and hitting each other on Friday (May 17) amid a bitter dispute about reforms to the chamber. Amid the chaotic scenes that unfolded, one lawmaker, in a bid to stop the passage of a bill took an entirely different approach as he snatched it and ran away.

Watch: Major brawl breaks out in Taiwanese parliament

Days before the recently elected Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te from the ruling party Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which advocates Taiwan’s distinct identity and rejects China's territorial claims, is set to take office, a major brawl broke out in the parliament.

Even before the lawmakers were to vote on a controversial reform bill, some started screaming and shoving each other outside the chamber.

As the chaotic scenes unfolded, Taiwanese lawmakers surged around the speaker’s seat while others were seen leaping over tables and pulling colleagues to the floor. Several lawmakers had to reportedly be hospitalised after the incident.

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In the middle of the chaos, one lawmaker tried to remove the bill itself from the chamber in order to stop its passage.

A video which has since gone viral on social media shows a Taiwanese lawmaker snatching the bill and dodging multiple people, before successfully exiting the parliament.

The MP, according to Taiwanese media reports, was later identified as DPP lawmaker Kuo Kuo-wen.

Lawmakers from all three parties were involved in the altercations and traded accusations about who was to blame.

What caused this violence and chaos?

While Lai won the election in January and will be inaugurated on Monday (May 20), his party, DPP lost its majority in parliament. Currently, the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), has more seats than the DPP but not enough to have a majority on its own.

Therefore, the KMT has been working with the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to promote their mutual ideas.

Also Watch |Scuffle breaks out inside Taiwan's parliament

The source of contention is a bill which would grant the parliament greater scrutiny powers over the government, including a controversial proposal to criminalise officials who are deemed to make false statements in the chamber, according to Reuters.

The DPP has accused the two parties of improperly trying to force through the proposals without the customary consultation process in what the ruling party has called “an unconstitutional abuse of power”.

“Why are we opposed? We want to be able to have discussions, not for there to be only one voice in the country,” DPP lawmaker Wang Mei-hui told Reuters.

Protests outside the parliament

A report by Focus Taiwan reported that some 100 people gathered outside the parliament amid the brawl that broke out inside the chamber.

In a clip posted on X, demonstrators can be heard chanting “Team Taiwan!” in protest of the bill which would also reportedly give the China-friendly camp – KMT and TPP – more power.

(With inputs from agencies)

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