"Brown, Dale - Fatal Terrain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brown Dale)

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HALL, GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
TAIPEI, REPUBLIC OF CHINA
SUNDAY, 15 MAY 1997, 1900 HOURS LOCAL
(17 MAY, 0700 HOURS ET)
The fistfight broke out as suddenly as a thunderclap. Several
men and women leaped over seats to clutch at those who dared
disagree with them or support another side over theirs. Railings
and seats were used as ladders to try to get at one another,
and the entire crowd seemed to surge forward like a pack of
wolves on the attack.
The scene resembled an unruly crowd at a World Cup soc-
cer match, or a riot in South Central-but this was a special
session of the National Assembly of the government of the
Republic of China on Taiwan.
The president pro tem of the National Assembly hammered
his gavel, trying to restore order. He glanced over at the na-
tional guard troops peeking through the window in the back
of the chamber, ready to burst in if necessary. He heard break-



2 DALE BROWN
ing glass and almost hit the panic button, but stayed calm and
watched nervously as the noisy politicians surged forward. It
took nearly thirty minutes to restore some level of calm, and
another ten minutes for the legislators to clear the aisles
enough so the National Police could escort the president of the
Republic of China, Lee Teng-hui, to the podium.
My fellow citizens, your attention, please. I am pleased to
announce the results of the ratification vote of t -he Legislative
Branch, which was taken just a few hours ago," President Lee
began. "By a vote of two hundred seventy-one for, thirty
against, three abstaining, Mr. Huang Chou-ming is hereby ap-
proved by the people of the Republic of Taiwan to serve as
vice president and premier. Mr. Huang, step forward, please."
Amid renewed cheering and yelling, mostly from the left
side of the hall, the new premier of the Republic of China
stepped up to the dais and accepted the green-and-gold sash
of office. Huang was a major figure in the Democratic Pro-
gressive Party (DPP), and his election to the number-two po-
sition in the Taiwanese government was significant-it was
the first major advance of a non-Kuornintang (KMT) Party
member in the country's short history. Although the Kuom-
intang still held a solid majority in all branches of the Tai-
wanese government, the advancement of the DPP was a major
shift from nearly fifty years of KMT philosophy and control.
The shouting, cheering, celebrations, and accusations sud-
denly and violently turned into another brawl on the floor of
the National Assembly. While bodyguards surrounded the
president and vice president, members of Taiwan's National