Brawl in Taiwan parliament as MPs turn militant in debate over military pension cuts
Lawmakers in angry clashes over planned government cuts to veterans pensions which have triggered mass protests
Taiwan legislators brawled in parliament on Friday over proposed reductions to military veterans’ pensions, part of wider cutbacks that have triggered mass protests.
The clashes came as a draft bill proposed by the cabinet earlier this month was deliberated in parliament for the first time, following a protest by military veterans in February.
A former colonel fell while climbing up a wall during the demonstration and later died in hospital.
Legislators shouted, pushed and shoved in the chamber on Friday, with lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang waving placards demanding President Tsai Ing-wen apologise to the veterans.
They threw signs emblazoned with the words “bully government”, jumped on tables and tussled with rival legislators from Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party.
