Taiwanese MPs throw PUNCHES and WATER BALLOONS amid anger over watchdog head nomination

Fighting erupted inside and outside of Taiwan’s parliament on Friday, as President Tsai Ing-wen nominated close aide Chen Chu to run the government watchdog – a move which has been met with fierce objections from the opposition.

Lacking the majority needed to override decisions made by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the opposition Kuomintang MPs opted for a physical occupation of the parliament’s premises.

This week, they remained in the parliamentary hall for three days in a bid to disrupt the voting on 70-year-old Chen, a former secretary-general of the Presidential Office, whose nomination Kuomintang called “political cronyism.”

A water balloon is pictured as lawmakers from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party throw them at each other inside the parliament in Taipei, Taiwan, July 17, 2020. © REUTERS/Ann Wang

A legislator from the DPP was caught on camera punching an opposition party member during a vote on Chen’s nomination for a six-year term as head of Control Yuan, an investigatory body that audits the other branches of government. Kuomintang MPs threw water balloons at the speakers' podium, forcing their DPP colleagues to wear plastic raincoats and hold up cardboard shields.

Opposition lawmakers set an example for their supporters, around 100 of whom became embroiled in street fighting with the police just outside the parliament building. Kuomintang Chairman Johnny Chiang spoke to the party supporters on a truck parked nearby. Some of the unruly protesters then attempted to break into the building, calling on the DPP to withdraw the nomination.

Despite the disorder, the voting went ahead, and Chen was appointed to the role. According to AFP, she promised to quit the DPP after her nomination was approved, in order to maintain the impartiality of the position.

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