Thousands of people joined the “Bluebird wintertime” protests outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei today, calling for controversial amendments proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to be withdrawn.
The KMT is planning to pass amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) and the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) today.
The “Bluebird wintertime” protest activities are being organized by civil society groups, including the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and Taiwan Citizen Front, and have been going on for several days.
Photo: CNA
Today, organizers called for supporters to gather outside the Legislative Yuan on section one of Jinan Road to protest the three amendments that they claimed would “seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy.”
“Surround the Legislative Yuan and rally more supporters,” EDU convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培), Chen E-jun (陳怡君) and others also arrived to show their support.
As KMT legislators were clearing the chamber at 11am, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), as well as legislators Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) and others, stepped outside to greet the protestors.
Some members of the crowd attempted to break through the police blockade and rush into the building at that moment, but the police reinforcements immediately arrived to prevent the crowd from entering.
Protesters continued to shout, “stop the meeting,” amid the conflict.
An ambulance tried to approach the entrance during the incident, but could not get through due to the chaotic situation.
DPP legislators Puma Shen (沈伯洋), Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) and others intervened to calm the crowd, but pushing and shoving between both sides lasted for about 40 minutes.
The Legislative Yuan should not use police power, as legislators are elected by the people and sovereignty belongs to the people, Wang Shih-chien said.
“It is crucial to stop the proceedings now, but we really don’t have enough people at the moment,” said Shen, emphasizing the need for everyone’s support.
As of 12pm, over 5,000 people had gathered outside the Legislative Yuan to join the protest, organizers said.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) appreciates that people took to the streets to safeguard democracy and hopes that Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) could put aside controversial bills that make people anxious, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said today.
Cho believes the police’s priority is to protect the people and has asked the National Police Agency to monitor the gathering outside the Legislative Yuan to ensure protesters’ safety, Lee said.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua and Fion Khan
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER: In Germany, the sector would be developed around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plant, and extend to Poland and the Czech Republic The Executive Yuan’s economic diplomacy task force has approved programs aimed at bolstering the nation’s chip diplomacy with Japan and European nations. The task force in its first meeting had its operational mechanism and organizational structure confirmed, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) the convener, and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) the deputy conveners. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would be the convener of the task force’s strategy group in charge of policy planning for economic diplomacy. The meeting was attended by the heads of the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the
RSS