UN Taiwan lawmakers exchange blows in bitter dispute over parliament reforms

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-lawmakers-exchange-blows-bitter-dispute-over-parliament-reforms-2024-05-17/

https://archive.ph/9EI67#selection-1661.0-2106.0

Taiwan lawmakers exchange blows in bitter dispute over parliament reforms​

By Ben Blanchard and Fabian Hamacher
May 17, 2024 11:16 AM UTC · Updated 2 hours ago




TAIPEI, May 17 (Reuters) - Taiwanese lawmakers shoved, tackled and hit each other in parliament on Friday in a bitter dispute about reforms to the chamber, just days before President-elect Lai Ching-te takes office without a legislative majority.
Even before votes started to be cast, some lawmakers screamed at and shoved each other outside the legislative chamber, before the action moved onto the floor of parliament itself.
In chaotic scenes, lawmakers surged around the speaker's seat, some leaping over tables and pulling colleagues to the floor. Though calm soon returned, there were more scuffles in the afternoon.
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Lai, who is to be inaugurated on Monday, won January's election, but his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its majority in parliament.
The main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), has more seats than the DPP but not enough to form a majority on its own, so it has been working with small Taiwan People's Party (TPP) to promote their mutual ideas.
The opposition wants to give parliament greater scrutiny powers over the government, including a controversial proposal to criminalise officials who are deemed to make false statements in parliament.
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The DPP says the KMT and TPP are improperly trying to force through the proposals without the customary consultation process in what the DPP calls "an unconstitutional abuse of power".

Item 1 of 5 Taiwan lawmakers argue and exchange blows during a parliamentary session in Taipei, Taiwan May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang
[1/5] Taiwan lawmakers argue and exchange blows during a parliamentary session in Taipei, Taiwan May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

"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, representing the southern city of Chiayi, told Reuters.
Lawmakers from all three parties were involved in the altercations, and traded accusations about who was to blame.
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The KMT's Jessica Chen, from the Taiwan-administered Kinmen islands that sit next to the Chinese coast, said the reforms were to enable better legislative oversight of the executive branch.
"The DPP does not want this to be passed as they have always been used to monopolising power," she told Reuters, wearing a military-style helmet.
Taiwan is a rambunctious democracy and fighting does on occasion take place in parliament. In 2020, KMT lawmakers threw pig guts onto the chamber's floor in a dispute over easing U.S. pork imports.

The clashes raise the prospect of more turmoil - and parliamentary conflict - ahead for Lai's new government after it takes office.
"I am worried," said the DPP's Wang.

 

[Bill Nyehilism]

East Asian politics are much more entertaining than zogland politics. Case in point, here's some south korean politician preforming a judo throw (flawless Tomoe Nage) on his political opponent.

 

[GradeAGobbleDeeGook]

RUN CHANG RUN!

!!!!!!

 

[Almighty Space Duck]

Yackety Sax this someone, I beg of thee.

 

[Sargon's wife's son]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye751qMjBmc

amateur hour tell me when someone brings an AK to parliament and attempts to shoot someone else and then still doesn't get removed for parliament

 

[S.C.U.D.]

You would NEVER see American politicians act even 1/10 as passionate as this. I fucking WISH we did this, then we'd know our politicians actually gave a shit. Bring this back:

Politics isn't interesting when politicians aren't savagely beating each other or having pistols at dawn.

 

[Archie_Kimkicker]

This needs to be an olympic sport.

 

[Troonos]

God, I wish the US Congress was this way. Physical fight between right and left, and whoever wins gets their way.

 

[Snekposter]

East Asian politics are much more entertaining than zogland politics. Case in point, here's some south korean politician preforming a judo throw (flawless Tomoe Nage) on his political opponent.

View attachment 5998722

A lot of these guys are fags, but you've got a Kosovar chucking a smoke bomb at his colleagues, and a couple Ukrainians who very clearly knew what they were doing when it came time to throw hands.

 

[Kirtto]

Is Xi Jingping rubbing his hands over this? I'm willing to bet he wants a puppet in there to push the "Taiwan is part of the PRC" agenda.

The parlament majority is Pro-PRC, the current President of the legislative is a KMT member and Pro-Mainlaind conservative. The law is to allow the parlament to have more power over the President which is Pro-indepency

 

[Random Internet Person]

The parlament majority is Pro-PRC, the current President of the legislative is a KMT member and Pro-Mainlaind conservative. The law is to allow the parlament to have more power over the President which is Pro-indepency

In this parliament, CCP probably had a puppet in a super soldier program. To make the absolute best in body and in Mind.

 

[Hezbollah Jeanne]

You would NEVER see American politicians act even 1/10 as passionate as this. I fucking WISH we did this, then we'd know our politicians actually gave a shit. Bring this back:
View attachment 5999056
Politics isn't interesting when politicians aren't savagely beating each other or having pistols at dawn.

American politics became a bidding war. What happened back then would be terrible for big business and you wouldn't want big business to be hurt, right?

 

[Vindeo]

You would NEVER see American politicians act even 1/10 as passionate as this. I fucking WISH we did this, then we'd know our politicians actually gave a shit. Bring this back:
View attachment 5999056
Politics isn't interesting when politicians aren't savagely beating each other or having pistols at dawn.

If our politicians werent bought and paid for by PACs, foreign interest groups, and God knows what else over the the decades we could be this great.

God if I knew an elected representative I voted for would be willing to throw hands or run out of Congress with bad legislation I would seriously consider doing shit like door knocking and volunteering.

No point in any of it when our country's only two party's platforms are decided by donors.

 

[Oilspill Battery]

This is unironically based. Politicians willing to throw hands means they're passionate about what they believe in and aren't just phoning it in.

It should be a law if that if you're too old for a fistfight you're too old for parliament.

 

[3-2-1836]

This isn't the first time, back in 2006 someone else pulled this same exact stunt.

Fighting is just a tradition in the Taiwan parliament since the first fight in the parliament happened in 1988 the first year after the end of dictatorship in Taiwan, with the guy who threw the first punch becoming immensely popular and winning reelection the next year, leading it to become a customary part of Taiwanese politics.

In 1988, Liu Kuocai, the then president of the Legislative Council, unleashed the "first punch" in the Legislative Yuan, jumping on the podium and pulling out a microphone to protest. This not only shocked the country and gained popularity, but was also criticized in counties and cities such as Yunjianan. Voters regard it as the "hero of Congress" and the "battleship of democracy". He believes that "during the KMT dictatorship, the opposition party must adopt extreme measures in order to effectively supervise; moderate political methods cannot effectively promote the development of democracy." He calls himself the "God of War in Congress"

 

[MadStan]

Lord have mercy. This disease of violence - and the inability to land a blow - has inflicted the black man, and now the yellow man. Lord have mercy. May the Lord protect the white man from lowering himself to this kind of thing.

 

[Mike Matei's Penis]

This is better than WWE, they should air this

 

[The Cunting Death]

Couldn't find a way to download the video in the article but found this shorter video on twatter.
View attachment 5998271

YOU TELL HIM KWI-CHANG, NO MORE BIG GOVERNMENT! RIP HIS HEART OUT!

 

[God's strongest milkman]

Amazing reelection campaign move. I would absolutely vote for him. When he says he will do anything to stop something by God he means it.

 

[Staffy]

I mean, it's not really surprising. They're an illegitimate government that was forced to flee their home country due to being even more shit than communism, and only still exists because rich homosexuals want a foothold in the east.

you received +10 social credits

 

[National Defense Advocate]

I wish MY politicians fought for what they believe in, instead of infinigibs.

Imagine if Rand Paul kneed AOC in the fucking stomach.