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Yuan in Taipei today, calling for controversial amendments proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to be withdrawn.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
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