Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Taiwan is one of the world’s political entities that does not possess full status as a country. This group of countries has to put up with all sorts of unfair treatment and are told to become observers, or accept some other “special” status in international organizations to “learn on the job.” They have to grin and bear it as they are told what to do by UN-appointed government bodies.

However, back home, they are able to share their hatred for the same enemies and can overcome petty differences to pursue their ultimate goal of independence.

Students seem more alert than their parents’ generation. They differ from older corrupt and power-hungry generations and maintain a rational analytical ability. On March 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, bullied by the party’s placing of party discipline before public opinion, decided that the cross-strait service trade agreement review procedure should skip the Internal Administration Committee and be referred directly to the legislative floor. While older generations could not decide how to deal with this unprecedented crisis, a group of students rapidly mobilized. Ignoring the impact on their studies, they occupied the legislative chamber and blocked the government’s attempt to sell Taiwan down the river. This is a matter of saving the nation, a just action that requires bravery and intelligence.