Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

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.

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.