- Title: More fighting as Taiwan opposition again occupies parliament
- Date: 14th July 2020
- Summary: TAIPEI, TAIWAN (JULY 14, 2020) (REUTERS) OPPOSITION OFFICIALS CHANTING ON STAGE AS THEY OCCUPY PARLIAMENT'S MAIN CHAMBER WOMAN CLAPPING HANDS VARIOUS OF EMPTY PARLIAMENT
- Embargoed: 28th July 2020 10:30
- Keywords: Kuomintang Opposition Taiwan Taiwan parliament
- Location: TAIPEI, TAIWAN
- City: TAIPEI, TAIWAN
- Country: Taiwan
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002CMS5C1Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Taiwan's main opposition party again occupied parliament on Tuesday (July 14) to protest against the nomination of a close aide to the president to a top-level watchdog, after fighting with ruling party lawmakers to get into the building.
Violence and protests inside the chamber are not unusual in Taiwan, a spirited democracy where passions often run over.
Last month fights erupted inside the chamber after lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) broke through barricades erected by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) who had occupied it to protest against government "tyranny".
The KMT has been protesting President Tsai Ing-wen's nomination of her senior aide Chen Chu to head the Control Yuan, an independent government watchdog, saying it is "political cronyism".
Lawmakers from both parties fought outside the building before a group of KMT legislators got into parliament's main chamber, occupying the central podium seeking to prevent a confirmation hearing for Chen.
The DPP has a large parliamentary majority, and has been angered by the targeting of Chen, who was jailed in 1980 for helping lead pro-democracy demonstrations against the then-KMT government when Taiwan was a dictatorship.
The KMT was trounced in January's parliamentary and presidential elections, having failed to shake off accusations they were too pro-China. The party traditionally favours close ties with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory.
(Production: Ben Blanchard, Fang Nanlin) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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