Military Veterans Brawl Outside Taipei Parliament
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2018-04-25 HKT 19:30
Taiwanese military veterans on Wednesday scuffled with police as they tried to storm parliament in the latest of a series of protests against planned pension cuts.
Hundreds gathered outside the legislature's main entrance and some threw smoke bombs and water bottles at police guarding the building in central Taipei.
They also unsuccessfully tried to hurl an empty wooden coffin into the parliament compound's courtyard, television footage showed.
"How can the government unilaterally cut [our pensions] without our consent? The government is lousy, unfair and unjust!" said Wu Chih-chang, chairman of the Blue Sky Action Alliance which organised the protest.
Around 32 protesters were taken away after they climbed parliament's gate according to police. Others tried to pull down the gate using ropes and chains.
Some barricades outside the compound were torn down by protesters, while 15 officers and nine reporters were injured, police said.
Some protesters vowed to stay overnight as parliament was scheduled to review a pension reform bill for military veterans on Thursday.
Proposed pension cuts for the veterans are part of wider cutbacks in Taiwan that have triggered mass street protests as well as clashes inside parliament among lawmakers.
Last week legislators brawled in parliament as a draft bill proposed by the cabinet was being deliberated for the first time, with the opposition Kuomintang demanding President Tsai Ing-wen apologise to the veterans.
The backlash over the cuts is a major challenge for Tsai, who has seen her popularity rating fall since her election two years ago. (AFP)
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