Protesters Gather Outside Taiwan's Legislature Against Reform Bill
Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered outside Taiwan's legislature for the third time this week to oppose a legislative reform bill they say threatens the country's democracy.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Well, crowds are growing here with tens of thousands of protesters gathering outside
00:05 Taiwan's legislature and they've been gathering, gradually arriving all throughout the day.
00:12 This is the third peaceful protest this week in response to what's been happening inside
00:18 the legislature where lawmakers have been discussing a series of controversial bills
00:24 to expand the assembly's powers.
00:27 Now, Taiwan's two main opposition parties which control the legislature say that they
00:33 want to pass the bills to increase accountability and reinforce democratic checks and balances.
00:41 But we spoke to some protesters here earlier who believe that the bills are being pushed
00:46 through without due process and could undermine Taiwan's democracy.
00:51 The bill is being pushed through without due process and now it's being seconded and
00:57 then thirded.
00:58 I think this is very bad for Taiwan's future democracy.
01:03 The KMT and the Democratic People's Party, how they are violating Taiwan and how they
01:08 are turning the legislature into the Hong Kong legislature.
01:11 I hope that Taiwanese should be alert to this.
01:15 Threats to Taiwan's freedom and sovereignty are in the spotlight right now as China conducts
01:21 a series of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan.
01:26 And some people here are worried that conflict in the legislature, China may use this to
01:33 make Taiwan vulnerable to influence.
01:36 [Chinese language]
01:37 Parallel protests are happening in cities around the country.
01:51 And lawmakers are expected to stay at the legislature debating late into the night.
01:57 And protesters here too say that they'll be here hoping to keep them in check.
02:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]