Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

KMT tactics conjure up memories of White Terror

Gerrit van der Wees

A heated debate is going on in Taiwan over the cross-strait service trade agreement with China. Proponents, with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in the forefront, argue that the agreement is essential for the nation’s competitiveness and its future as a trading nation.

In an international press conference on Sunday, Ma said that the pact is “crucial to Taiwan’s future economic development,” while Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) pronounced a day earlier that the pact would “help Taiwan’s liberalization and internationalization.”

Rising chorus of dissent

John Hsieh

In August last year, the Citizen 1985 group sang Do you hear the people sing? from the musical Les Miserables for late army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) and that same song is now being sung by students in Taipei protesting the cross-strait service trade agreement.

Student demonstrators and other activists occupying the Legislative Yuan in Taipei chanted: “Reject the service trade pact, reopen the negotiations, defend our democracy,” while thousands of their supporters surrounded the legislature to add their voices to the protest. All these voices calling out in unison are very touching.

Importance of social movements in Taiwan

Dafydd Fell

Having closely observed Taiwanese politics for well over two decades, I do not expect to be surprised by political developments there. Taiwanese politics are certainly never boring. That is why it is such a wonderful topic to research and teach. After a period of relative calm, one of the most noteworthy developments of the past six years has been the resurgence of its social movements. At a time when there is growing alienation from mainstream political parties, civil society is playing a growing and critically important role in Taiwanese democracy. However, the student occupation of the legislature showed how Taiwanese politics retains the ability to surprise.

Activists occupy legislative floor

Taipei Times

Hundreds of student protesters against a China-Taiwan trade pact surround the legislature in Taipei for a second day yesterday.
Photo: Taipei Times

Despite attempts by the police to retake the legislative chamber yesterday, hundreds of demonstrators — mainly student activists — continued the occupation they began late on Tuesday night to protest the cross-strait trade pact, while thousands more outside the Legislative Yuan kept the building under siege.

“Reject the service trade pact! Reopen the negotiations! Defend our democracy!” about 2,500 protesters — within and outside the legislative chamber — chanted during the day.

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