03/08/2013

Taiwan Lawmakers Brawl in Parliament Over Nuclear Plant Vote


Ruling Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Lee Cheng-min scuffles with Hsu Chung-hsin (R) from the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) before a vote over rebuilding the fourth nuclear power plant at Parliament in Taipei. Taiwanese lawmakers hurled water and wrestled each other to the floor of the island's parliament in a brawl which broke out during a debate on the fate of a controversial nuclear plant.Anti-nuclear demonstrators scuffle with policemen outside of Parliament.Ruling lawmakers chant slogans to try and drown out their opposition who occupy the podium during a day of fights on the legislature floor.Taiwanese lawmakers throw punches and pour water on each other ahead of voting on whether to holding a referendum on building the controversial No. 4 nuclear power plant. President Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan needs the fourth nuclear power plant to solve power shortage, but environmentalists oppose its construction out of safety concerns.






Tensions flare: Ruling and opposition lawmakers toss drinks during a fight on the legislature floor in Taipei, Taiwan, during a debate on nuclear power


Ruling Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Lee Cheng-min scuffles with Hsu Chung-hsin (R) from the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) before a vote over rebuilding the fourth nuclear power plant at Parliament in Taipei. Taiwanese lawmakers hurled water and wrestled each other to the floor of the island's parliament in a brawl which broke out during a debate on the fate of a controversial nuclear plant.Anti-nuclear demonstrators scuffle with policemen outside of Parliament.Ruling lawmakers chant slogans to try and drown out their opposition who occupy the podium during a day of fights on the legislature floor.Taiwanese lawmakers throw punches and pour water on each other ahead of voting on whether to holding a referendum on building the controversial No. 4 nuclear power plant. President Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan needs the fourth nuclear power plant to solve power shortage, but environmentalists oppose its construction out of safety concerns.



 Ruling Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Lee Cheng-min scuffles with Hsu Chung-hsin (R) from the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) before a vote over rebuilding the fourth nuclear power plant at Parliament in Taipei. Taiwanese lawmakers hurled water and wrestled each other to the floor of the island's parliament in a brawl which broke out during a debate on the fate of a controversial nuclear plant.Anti-nuclear demonstrators scuffle with policemen outside of Parliament.Ruling lawmakers chant slogans to try and drown out their opposition who occupy the podium during a day of fights on the legislature floor.Taiwanese lawmakers throw punches and pour water on each other ahead of voting on whether to holding a referendum on building the controversial No. 4 nuclear power plant. President Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan needs the fourth nuclear power plant to solve power shortage, but environmentalists oppose its construction out of safety concerns.

Taiwan lawmakers put each other in headlocks and wrestled on the floor of the legislature as the opposition party moved to occupy the president’s pulpit in a bid to stave off a vote on a nuclear power plant.
Democratic Progressive Party legislators, who oppose further construction of the plant in northern Taiwan, grappled with ruling party Kuomintang lawmakers today, local cable news networks reported.

Taiwan legislators scuffle with each other in reaction to a bill due to pass on whether to rebuild the fourth nuclear power plant, at the parliament in Taipei on August 2, 2013. Photographer: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images
A placard reading "Stop building reactor four immediately" is displayed as legislators from Taiwan's main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) sleep before a vote is taken on whether to build a fourth nuclear power plant, at the parliament in Taipei on August 2, 2013. Photographer: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images
A legislative vote to decide if there should be a wider popular ballot on the project was delayed, preventing Legislative Yuan President Wang Jing-pyng from opening the session. The Kuomintang, known as the KMT, holds 65 seats compared to the DPP’s 40.
“The ruling party shouldn’t use the violence of majority rule to push through the nuclear power plant project,” DPP spokesman Jason Lin said in a statement today. “We support the hard work of our party members.”
DPP lawmakers will stay in the legislature through the weekend until Aug. 6, when debate on the bill is scheduled to conclude, according to Lin.
The KMT may seek a special session for lawmakers in order to pass the bill by the end of August, the Taipei-based Apple Daily reported, citing the executive director of the KMT’s policy committee, Lin Hung-chih.
Posted by at

1 comment:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)