Protesters are calling out opposition Kuomintang legislators for shutting out ruling Democratic Progressive Party members from a preliminary vote on amendments to Taiwan's recall act. These Bluebird protesters called it an abuse of power, while the KMT held a counterprotest, taunting the Bluebird crowd.
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00:00The Blue Bird movement is back.
00:06Despite the cold, thousands of people joined civil society organizations outside the opposition
00:11Kuomintang headquarters, angered by what they say is abuse of power in the legislature.
00:17Earlier this week, KMT legislators barricaded the room where they were set to have cross-party
00:21discussions on amendments that could tighten regulations on recalling public officials,
00:27effectively stopping the ruling Democratic Progressive Party from voting.
00:31The KMT and allies unanimously passed the preliminary review, and scenes of the consequential
00:36three-minute meeting spurred many to join the protests.
00:39We can't stand the Kuomintang blocking the meeting.
00:45We came here today to tell them we can't stand it.
00:50The people are more important than the legislature.
00:58At the heart of it all is the contentious issue of recalls.
01:01The KMT and its allies are trying to tighten the rules over how recalls are launched and
01:06passed, something they say is needed to prevent fraud and frivolous votes.
01:11But protesters believe the changes will, in effect, remove voters' right to launch recalls.
01:17And while an investigation has been launched into the disputed preliminary vote, the KMT
01:21says they did nothing wrong.
01:24They launched their own counter-protest just meters away from the Bluebird gathering, playing
01:28music and shouting at the protesters.
01:38But the crowd of Bluebird protesters grew throughout the night, with organizers reporting
01:446,000 participants.
01:45Politicians, musicians and activists gave speeches in support of the movement.
02:04The legislature is set to vote on another KMT-supported set of amendments to the Recall
02:08Act on Friday.
02:12And demonstrators say they'll be there to protest again, and make sure lawmakers hear
02:16their voices.
02:18Klein Wong and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.