Taiwan military veterans clash with police in pension protest

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.

Dozens of protesters Tuesday pushed down a gate to the parliament compound in downtown Taipei as police attempted to stop them from rushing in.

Retired general Wu Sz-huai fainted in the skirmish while former colonel Miao Te-sheng was seriously injured.

Video footage showed a police officer trying to break Miao's fall as he slipped from the second storey of a building, landing on his back.

"We have spent more than a year protesting on the streets. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has completely ignored us, our petitions and protests," one protester said in a video posted on the organising group's Facebook page.