Several public figures yesterday took to Facebook to comment on the first anniversary of the Sunflower movement, affirming the movement’s achievement in upholding democracy and challenging the existing political structure.
“The movement originated in public discontent with the manipulated cross-strait relations at the hands of Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] and Chinese Communist Party, and domestically, with [issues of] the nation’s economy, politics, democracy, social equality and intergenerational justice,” Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party said in a post about the rallies from March 18 to April 10 last year protesting the central government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade pact.
“The Sunflower movement not only held back the cross-strait service pact, but unseated those who benefited from the dwanguo (黨國, party-state) system in last year’s elections — the largest local elections the nation has ever had,” he added. “The movement bears witness to young Taiwanese’s undaunted determination to defend democracy and social justice.”
Photo: AFP
“The 318 student movement was a historic awakening of the public consciousness, which greatly influenced my election,” independent Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) wrote, referring to his victory in the nine-in-one elections last year that also saw a landslide against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
“It was a movement in which the people of Taiwan, especially the younger generations, began to pay attention to what was going on around them and care about politics, ” Ko said.
Award-winning writer Neil Peng (馮光遠) wrote that “the movement overturned Taiwan’s politics, and young people’s active participation converted into the electoral achievement in last year’s elections.”
“I would like to say a ‘thank you’ to all those young people who are fighting for Taiwan’s future and dignity,” he said.
Chou Wei-hang (周偉航), a Fu Jen Catholic University assistant professor known online as Ninjia Text (人渣文本), said that judging the movement by its goal of withholding the cross-strait service agreement, “the movement was successful, as the agreement has not yet come into effect.”
“I have observed an overhaul in the ethical structure in Taiwanese society over the past year,” he added, citing instances in which more citizens are challenging power structures in pursuit of social justice.
Taiwan Solidarity Union secretary-general Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) asked whether the nation should celebrate Youth Day on March 29 — an official holiday commemorating revolutionaries who died in the Second Guangzhou Uprising against the Qing Dynasty in 1911 — or on March 18.
Netizens overwhelmingly responded in favor of rescheduling of the holiday, saying: “318 should be Taiwan’s Youth Day” and “329 has nothing to do with Taiwan.”
Additional reporting by Abraham Gerber and Hung Jui-ching
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai