Resistance to pension reform yesterday continued as protesters affiliated with the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) clashed with military veterans camped outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Independence slogans and cries of “shameless” from the protesters quickly drew an angry reponse from the pensioners, who were waiting for the arrival of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢), who is running for party chairman, with pushing and shoving erupting before police intervened to keep the two sides apart.
“We are lawfully protesting, and they are illegally interfering,” retired army lieutenant general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), spokesman for the protesting veterans, said repeatedly, before instructing fellow veterans to return to the tent where they have been camping since Tuesday.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
TSU administrative director and former lawmaker Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said it was “funny” to have military veterans protesting when “the pension reform is not even targeting them.”
Chou, a former lawmaker, also criticized the group for referring to themselves as the “800 Heroes” during a demonstration on Tuesday.
“800 Heroes” refers to a group of Chinese soldiers who defended a warehouse against Japanese troops during the 1937 Battle of Shanghai.
“We all know this story as one of people who were willing to sacrifice themselves to defend the nation, but none of these officers protested when some of their members went to China and sang the Chinese national anthem. It is shameless that they are coming out to protest income reductions after failing to stand up to condemn that action,” she said.
Wu sparked a controversy when he attended a state ceremony in China last year in honor of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫中山).
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has promised to treat military veterans preferentially during reforms, separating them from changes targeting the pensions of civil servants and teachers, but specifics have yet to be announced.
Chan’s visit was the latest from a candidate in the KMT chairmanship race.
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