Taiwan military veterans clash with police in pension protest
Protesters including senior military veterans pushed down a gate to Taiwan’s parliament building Tuesday and clashed with police as they tried to storm in over pension cutbacks. One former colonel was in a critical condition in hospital after attempting to climb a wall and falling.
The protests were sparked by government plans to reform the military pension system, part of a wider pension cutbacks programme which triggered mass protests last year. Legislators passed a pension reform bill last June, cutting civil servants’ generous pension packages as the government warned it could no longer pay out on the high-interest deals.
A separate bill targeting military pensions is expected to be discussed in the current parliament session. The backlash over the cuts is a major challenge for President Tsai Ing-wen, who has seen her popularity rating fall since her election two years ago.
Read More: Yahoo
