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Taiwan opposition KMT lawmakers storm parliament over job for Tsai Ing-wen aide
- Kuomintang politicians protest against the nomination of former Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu to run a top independent watchdog
- KMT interrupt Chen’s confirmation, calling it ‘cronyism’
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Taiwan’s main opposition party fought with ruling party lawmakers to storm the parliament building and occupy the legislative chamber in protest against the nomination of a close aide to the president to a top-level watchdog.
Lawmakers from both parties fought outside the building before a group of Kuomintang (KMT) legislators got into parliament’s main chamber, occupying the central podium seeking to prevent a confirmation hearing for former Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu to head the Control Yuan, an independent government watchdog. Chen is a close aide to President Tsai Ing-wen.
KMT lawmakers overturned the stand where Chen was due to speak, unveiling banners reading “no to cronyism, withdraw the nomination”.
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“We cannot accept this and are resolutely opposed to it,” KMT chairman Johnny Chiang told supporters outside parliament.
It is the second time legislators have fought in the past three weeks.
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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”.
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