The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should take all 52 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers to court if they have the guts, KMT caucus Whip Fu Kun-chi said yesterday in response to the DPP’s saying that it would pursue legal actions over what it called the KMT’s “atrocities” on Friday.
Massive brawls broke out on Friday and continued throughout the day in the main chamber of the Legislative Yuan as DPP legislators tried to prevent the passing of legislative reform bills.
The Taiwanese public saw the “darkest day” in the history of the nation’s parliament, Fu said yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Aside from the physical altercations, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was a “forced captive” in the resting chambers as a result of the DPP’s “thuggish” behavior, Fu said, adding that the DPP at the time also threatened to only let Han leave if he would announce recesses and not allow legislative proceedings for items on Friday’s agenda.
It is unfortunate that president-elect William Lai (賴清德) failed to criticize the violent acts of his own party’s legislators, Fu added, citing nine major incidents of violence that he said DPP legislators had committed against KMT legislators. The DPP had also broken public facilities, assaulted the 72-year-old Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Chester Chou (周萬來) and threatened legislatorial staff, he said.
KMT Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) was attacked and had a bruised ribcage, KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) had a bruised hand and female KMT Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽) was tackled by male DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) and also sustained bruises, Fu said.
Chen said she was unable to stop Chung from clambering up onto the speaker’s podium on Friday and that Chung tackling her could be considered an act of violence, harassment or even an intent to commit murder.
Chen urged DPP legislators to support her in criticizing Chung’s actions and ensuring gender equality in the legislature.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday criticized the DPP’s violence, stating that he believed the public could not accept the DPP’s blatant attack on police officers and legislators who were doing their jobs.
Chu urged Lai not to succumb to arrogance and indulge his party’s lawmakers in creating a scene when the party is in power, adding that he hoped that Taiwan would have a democratic and progressive society and not a community rife with violence from “so-called democratic supporters.”
Additional reporting by Huang Shu-li
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS