New Delhi: A massive chaos erupted in the Taiwan Parliament during a fierce debate over a controversial reform bill. The situation turned dramatic when Guo Guowen, a Member of Parliament, snatched the bill documents and made a dash to halt its passage, an incident captured in an online video. News agency Reuters reported that the incident took place just days before President-elect Lai Ching-te was set to take office on Monday. Despite winning the January election, Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not hold a majority in the legislature.

The primary opposition party, Kuomintang (KMT), holds more seats than the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) but lacks a parliamentary majority. The KMT is collaborating with the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) to advance shared objectives. The opposition seeks to enhance parliament's ability to check government actions, including implementing a contentious proposal to penalize officials who lie in parliament.

Tensions ran high even before voting began, with lawmakers screaming and shoving each other outside the legislative chamber. The chaos escalated on the parliament floor, where lawmakers rushed to the Speaker's seat, climbed onto tables, and pinned colleagues to the ground. Additional scuffles erupted throughout the afternoon.

According to the Khaleej Times, one lawmaker was hospitalized after falling off a platform and injuring his head.

The DPP accused the KMT and TPP of trying to push through proposals without proper consultation, calling it "an unconstitutional abuse of power." DPP lawmaker Wang Mei-hui from Chiayi stated, "Why are we opposed? We want to be able to have discussions, not for there to be only one voice in the country," as reported by Reuters.

KMT lawmaker Jessica Chen, representing the Kinmen islands, argued that the reforms were aimed at improving legislative oversight of the executive branch. She claimed that the DPP opposes the bill because "they are used to having all the power."

In 2020, KMT lawmakers threw pig guts onto the chamber floor during a dispute over US pork imports.