Taiwan’s legislature sees brawls, booing, bruises over parliament reforms

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Just two days before the presidential inauguration, the Taiwanese legislature on Friday saw unruly scenes with lawmakers coming to blows over a reform bill.

Videos from Legislative Yuan, or legislature, showed lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) exchanging heated arguments which led to blows that resulted in minor injuries.

One ruling party lawmaker was seen running out of the main hall after snatching the reform bill from the treasury and opposition benches.

During the third reading of a reform bill that the KMT and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) wanted to pass, DPP member Chung Chia-pin jumped on the podium, causing him to fall along with KMP lawmaker Chen Ching-huy.

Chen suffered bruises to her right leg and said violence was unacceptable, while Chung apologized, and said he suffered bruises to his ribs.

The fight broke out as opposition parties, including the KMP and TPP, wanted to pass through reforms of the legislature to empower lawmakers to scrutinize the government as well as punish officials who make false statements inside the legislature.

The DPP appears to scuttle the move as its incumbent chair William Lai is set to be inaugurated as the eighth president of Taiwan on Monday.

Along with William, Taiwanese lawmakers were also elected in January this year.

The ruling DPP lost the majority in the legislature following the elections, while the KMT enjoyed a simple majority.

Lawmakers from all three major parties were involved in the brawls, booing, and bruises.