By Chen Yun and Jason Pan
Sunflower movement activists returned to the site of their protest nine years ago at the Legislative Yuan to voice their opposition to negotiating with China on a cross-strait service trade agreement, as advocated by presidential aspirants of the major opposition parties.
Justin Wu (吳崢), also known as Wu Cheng, the media liaison section head of the 2014 movement, and Tseng Po-yu (曾柏瑜), a spokeswoman during the protests, led yesterday morning the activists at the front gate of the Legislative Yuan for the media briefing.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
They were joined by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵), along with university students and DPP youth staffers, holding up placards that displayed, “Taiwan is not for sale” and “We refuse to restart the CSSTA” (the cross-strait service trade agreement).
Wu pointed out that during many years, Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) cross-strait policy has centered on striving for closer relations, with the KMT’s endless cycle of pro-China mantras, such as “we must engage with China,” and “doing business with China,” but to the detriment of Taiwan’s citizens.
“Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Hou You-yi (侯友宜), as presidential candidates for their respective parties, should work to lead Taiwan and its citizens, to endeavor for the best interest for all Taiwan’s people. But their priority is based on political doctrine, that they are pro-China in all their policy considerations,” Wu said.
“Ko and Hou even are subservient, working to please China, fawning over Chinese leaders ... but it is years after the Sunflower movement, and we must not retread on that path, and we must not sacrifice Taiwan’s next youth generation, to take up the China-friendly policies of their respective parties,” he said.
When under the KMT government in the past, Taiwanese workers had low wages, and still wanted to open the doors for Chinese businesses and capital investment, by which China could take control of Taiwan’s service sectors and many industries, Wu added.
“At that time, with Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in power as president for which he and KMT’s economic policies had the basic monthly salary for young people at ‘22K’ [NT$22,000]. It made Taiwan’s college-level graduates to become ‘low-end labor workers’ for starting their job after finishing school. Then Ma and KMT pushed for CSSTA with China, which would worsen the conditions for young people and most workers in our society,” he said.
“Fortunately Taiwan’s young people, civic society groups, and DPP members stood up to fight against it, for the Sunflower movement to succeed in blocking off the cross-strait service trade agreement, stopping it from getting passed in the legislature,” Wu said.
“But now nearly a decade later, it is lamentable to see Ko and Hou are advocating to restart on negotiating with China for the CSSTA,” he added.
Formerly a member of the New Power Party (NPP) who ran under the party’s banner for a city council seat, Wu recently joined the DPP, so that the party would nominate him to run for a legislative seat in New Taipei City for the next year’s elections.
“They must explain to the public, why restart CSSTA talks one decade later? Why they want to treat Taiwan’s young people like this? If the cross-strait agreement gets approved, then China with its huge labor workforce will take over, leaving our yound people with lower wages,” Tseng said.
“The more Chinese youth coming to Taiwan for work under the CSSTA, that amount of Taiwanese youth will have no job,” she said. “Taiwan needs to reach into the worldwide markets, for internationalization to improve our nation’s economy ... China has not altered its ambition to invade Taiwan by force, and no matter how nice the exterior packaging, China is pushing for economic growth and market force to subjugate Taiwan under its rule.”
Tseng was formerly with the NPP and Green Party Taiwan, and has served as an independent city councilor in New Taipei City since last year, she became a DPP member in May.
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