Mass Brawl Between Ruling and Opposition Lawmakers in Taiwan... 6 Hospitalized

Physical Clash Over National Assembly Reform Bill
Foreign Media Calls It "The Most Dynamic Democracy"

In Taiwan's legislature, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties clashed over a bill, resulting in a group brawl within the parliament. During the incident, six people were injured and transported to the hospital.

On the 18th, local Taiwanese media reported that the day before, members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) physically fought over the passage of a bill.

The incident occurred during the process in the Legislative Yuan (parliament) where the KMT, in cooperation with the second opposition People First Party, was pushing forward the so-called "Five Major Parliamentary Reforms" bill aimed at expanding the powers of the legislature and its members and strengthening government oversight functions.

The DPP opposed the bill, arguing that under the guise of parliamentary reform, it could lead to abuse of power and that forcefully pushing it forward would undermine the constitution.

Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties engaged in a brawl at the Taiwan Legislative Yuan
[Image source=Yonhap News]

DPP lawmakers attempted to block the bill's passage by climbing onto the podium and occupying it, clashing with KMT members who tried to stop them. During the confrontation, punches and kicks were exchanged among some lawmakers, and several fell or were pushed off the podium, sustaining injuries. In total, five DPP members and one KMT member were taken to the hospital.

Ultimately, Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu, a member of the KMT, declared a dissolution and announced that the voting procedure would be reconsidered in parliament on the 21st.

Foreign media also focused on the violent incident. The UK's Telegraph reported, "Taiwanese lawmakers threw punches, kicked, and shoved each other during heated debates over a series of legislative reforms." The BBC described Taiwan as "one of the most dynamic democracies." It is known that political violence, including physical clashes between ruling and opposition parties, has occasionally occurred in Taiwan's parliament, such as in 2010.

Meanwhile, Lai Ching-te, the DPP's president-elect ahead of the presidential inauguration on the 20th, expressed condolences and sympathy to the injured lawmakers and party members via social media (SNS) after the parliamentary clash, urging the parliament and opposition parties to "comply with the constitution and return to reasonable discussions."

Ker Wen-je, chairman of the People First Party, also expressed regret over the violent clash in the Legislative Yuan ahead of the presidential inauguration but stated, "Violence should not be used to block the bill."