In the blink of an eye, 10 years have passed since the turbulent Sunflower movement began in 2014. Among those of us who skipped class or work to occupy the Legislative Yuan, some have started families and businesses, and some are still activists, whether inside or outside the establishment.
Surprisingly, a few are now flirting with the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) support of the cross-strait service trade agreement, which is what the occupiers were protesting against.
What is for certain is that the Sunflower movement remodeled Taiwan’s identity, confirmed its divergence from China and ensured that it would not follow in the footsteps of Hong Kong.
Then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and KMT legislators wanted to ratify the agreement, which would have deepened Taiwan’s economic ties to China. After the Sunflower movement stopped the agreement from being passed, Ma in his memoir angrily called the protesters: “those villains who caused Taiwan to stagnate.”
Looking back on those events from today’s perspective, people might ask who were the real villains — the KMT, which was adamant the deal should be passed, or those who resisted China’s plan to ensnare Taiwan’s politics through economic means?
The best comparison is to look at Hong Kong, which has deepened economic and trade relations with China. In November last year, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in power, the TAIEX overtook Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index.
Meanwhile, foreign investors have been pulling out of the Chinese market due to interference by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), causing the economies of Hong Kong and China to go into a downward spiral.
Furthermore, Hong Kong’s freedom and democracy have been whittled away by the CCP. It is reasonable to ask whether Taiwan could have escaped this political and economic disaster if the agreement had been ratified in 2014, tying Taiwan into a “greater China” framework.
Taiwan’s transition from authoritarian rule to democracy is well known and undeniable. From the early dangwai (黨外, “outside the party”) opposition and the Kaohsiung Incident of 1979 to the Wild Lily student movement of 1990 and the Sunflower movement of 2014, they all contributed to the nation’s democratization.
Now, just as Taiwan is facing political and military threats from communist China, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and TPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who were opposed to the service trade agreement at the time of the Sunflower movement, have seen fit to sit down for dinner and a chat with the KMT, all for the sake of their party political interests.
As well as feeling dismayed, people also need to be on the alert. With opposition legislators outnumbering those of the governing DPP, the CCP is sure to increase its encroachments on Taiwan’s maritime territory and might find it easier to do so.
Consequently, Taiwanese must still work hard to safeguard the nation’s freedom and democracy.
Brighter days lie ahead, and the courageous Taiwanese will keep moving forward even if they face many challenges along the way.
Pan Kuan took part in the Sunflower movement of 2014.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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