Fight Breaks Out in Taiwan's Parliament Over Nuclear Plant

[DeSwiss]

NTDTV·Published on Aug 2, 2013

A fight broke out amongst legislators during a parliament session on Friday (August 2) over a controversial referendum proposal on building a fourth nuclear power plant.

Legislators of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had occupied the parliament speaker's podium in the Assembly Hall since Thursday (August 1) evening, blocking the doors with chairs.

Scuffles broke out when the ruling Nationalist Party legislators entered for a parliament session on Friday morning. The parliament was scheduled to vote on Friday on whether to hold a referendum on halting the construction of the nuclear plant, also known as "Nuke 4," near Taipei.

The opposition says provisions of Taiwan's Referendum Act make it difficult to pass any motion submitted for approval, as half of all voters must take part, and half of them must vote in favour of a motion for it to pass.

Legislators threw water bottles, got into fights with one another, with one legislator seen wearing a helmet to protect himself in the scuffles. The DPP opposes the nuclear plant, citing safety concerns, while the ruling Nationalist Party warns that scrapping the facility will lead to insufficient power supply and will harm the economy.

Construction is 98 percent complete and tests have begun on the first reactor. Any halt to the project would incur huge costs, with the budget standing at T$283.8 billion ($9.57 billion USD), according to state-owned Taipower, and the cabinet is expected to seek additional funds in June.

During the parliament session, dozens of protesters held up signs reading "stop building the fourth nuclear plant immediately" and staged a sit-in protest outside the legislature.

Protesters said the referendum voting system was inherently flawed.The protesters also threw newspaper rolls and water balloons towards the compounds of the parliament to express their anger.

Opposition to nuclear power swept across the world following the 2011 crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami. But pressure on governments to reduce reliance on oil and tap cheaper energy forms is bringing projects back to the drawing board.

[Iliyah]

1. LOL

I would love to see Harry Reid start boxing the turtle - LOL

Nancy P bitch slap Boner - heheheheheheheh