Taiwan MPs go ballistic over nuke
vote
Ruling and
opposition lawmakers in Taiwan spraying each other with water in
Parliament yesterday after a brawl broke out over a referendum on
the construction of the island's fourth nuclear plant.
PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAIPEI - Taiwanese
lawmakers hurled water and wrestled each other to the floor of
Parliament in a brawl which broke out during debate on the fate of
a controversial nuclear plant.
Dozens of lawmakers from opposing camps clashed as
they tried to seize the chamber's podium, splashing water from cups
and plastic bottles at each other as they shouted, "Support for
Nuke 4 harms children".
Live TV footage showed two scuffling lawmakers from
opposing parties falling to the floor before they were pulled apart
by others.
Parliament was scheduled to vote on whether to hold
a referendum to stop the ongoing construction of the island's
fourth nuclear plant, also known as "Nuke 4", near Taipei.
But the voting is likely to be postponed to next
week, said the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which
opposes the nuclear plant, citing safety concerns.
The ruling Kuomintang (KMT), which is
pro-referendum, warns that scrapping the facility will lead to
insufficient power supply and hurt the economy.
With a large KMT majority in the 113-seat
legislature, the referendum Bill is expected to pass.
Construction of the fourth nuclear plant began in
1997, but was halted while the DPP was in power between 2000 and
2008.
The construction is about 90 per cent complete. If
the referendum is passed, it could come online in 2015, according
to its operator, the state-owned Taiwan Power Company.
Concerns about the island's nuclear facilities have
been mounting since 2011, when Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant was
hit by a tsunami.
While the lawmakers fought, about 100 environmental
activists staged a sit-in outside Parliament, chanting slogans
opposing nuclear energy.
Taiwan's Parliament was once notorious for mass
brawls between legislators, but over the last few years debates had
remained relatively peaceful.
However, in June, legislators scuffled and splashed
coffee on each other during a debate on whether to revise a
controversial capital gains tax on share trading.
The latest incident has triggered heated criticism
from the public on the Internet.
"Lawmakers are trash and a group of scumbags," read
a message left by Mr Simon Li on the United Daily News' Facebook
page.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Asia, The Straits Times, Saturday, August 3, 2013, Pg A18