“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has,” US cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said.
On March 18, students occupied the legislature to protest the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
On March 23, activists broke into the Executive Yuan to protest what they said was the government’s disingenuity in conducting dialogue with the Sunflower movement over the trade pact.
On April 16, scores of protesters staged a sit-in on the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ plaza in protest at the government’s handling of a wind turbine construction project in Miaoli County’s Yuanli Township (苑裡).
And the latest addition to the list of protests took place on Tuesday, when about 200 former freeway toll collectors scuffled with police at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications as they protested against what they called the government’s broken promises to find them jobs and offer compensation comparable with redundancies in state-run corporations.
With some wondering which government building will be the next target of public grievance, it is almost certain that the public now, unlike in the past, are no longer willing to remain mute in the face of what they perceive as the government’s arrogance, its obliviousness to public opinion and unwillingness to communicate.
As we ponder Mead’s words, it has become ever clearer that the student-led Sunflower movement presented not just a demonstration against the government’s “black-box,” or opaque, handling of the controversial service trade pact in a bid to restore basic democratic principles, but it has also awakened Taiwanese awareness of civic engagement and issues of critical importance from the grassroots up.
Through the Sunflower movement, many people who were previously apathetic and avoided sensitive social issues, now realize that politics is not inaccessible and they have been struck by a clear notion that every individual can indeed make a difference; that they can challenge and collectively fight against those in power to propel the country toward a more promising future.
In view of the recent series of cases of demonstrators besieging governmental buildings to protest against the lack of responsiveness — or worse, apathy — on the part of the government toward people’s plights and their concerns about the erosion of democracy, citizens are becoming more aware that by not staying silent, but instead taking action to pressure the government, they can help to keep the government in check and maintain a responsible and responsive democracy.
Continuous pressure is therefore needed to deal with the government’s arrogant display of power. However, some cannot help but wonder whether all these voices are loud enough for the president and senior officials, who continue to believe that “this kind of thing will blow over in a couple of days.”
“Government officials should feel the public’s pain,” President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has often told officials as he lectures on the importance of public opinion, of listening to citizens and reflecting on how the government can improve people’s livelihoods.
Let us hope that Ma and his officials will indeed open their ears to hear what the public has to say, and not keep their minds closed to civic participation.
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