MCLC: Sun Flower protests in Taipei

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Terry Russell <Terry.Russell at umanitoba.ca>
Subject: Sun Flower protests in Taipei
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There was an enormous protest in front of the Presidential Palace
yesterday (Sunday) in Taipei yesterday. Estimates of the size of the crowd
are all over the map, but even the “Blue” media were reporting 500,000
demonstrators in support of the student occupation of the national
legislature. There were also a couple of thousand white-shirted supporters
of the KMT in attendance. Supporters were mostly clad in black in
reference to the “black box” trade agreement they were protesting. Not
much good coverage in the international media still, but Ramzy’s report is
reflective of the events and the mood here. Absent were Chinese students,
some of whom had come out to watch the proceedings. Apparently the moment
they arrived on the scene they received text messages on their cell phones
instructing them to leave. Perhaps a foreshadowing of the future for all
of us.

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Source: Sinosphere blog, NYT (3/30/14):
http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/large-crowds-fill-taipei-str
eets-in-protest-over-china-trade-bill/

Large Crowds Fill Taipei Streets in Protest Over China Trade Bill
By AUSTIN RAMZY 

Large crowds of demonstrators took to the streets of Taipei to protest
efforts by the government to approve a trade pact with Beijing and show
support for the students who have occupied Taiwan’s legislature for nearly
two weeks.

Organizers estimated that at least 350,000 people were gathered, as of 2
p.m., on the streets around the Presidential Office Building to express
discontent over a pact that would open up dozens of service fields to
cross-strait investment. Police counted 116,000 demonstrators by 4 p.m.,
according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, while some television news
stations put the number as high as 700,000.

After President Ma Ying-jeou’s ruling party, the Kuomintang, pushed the
pact onto the floor of the legislature without an item-by-item review, as
previously promised, hundreds of protesters, mostly college students,
stormed the legislature chamber on March 18. They have remained, with
crowds of supporters filling the streets outside.

The trade pact has spurred concerns that it would harm local businesses
and increase Beijing’s influence over Taiwan, a self-ruled island it
claims as part of its territory. While many demonstrators are opposed to
the service trade pact, the most widely held complaint was that the
measure has not been sufficiently examined. A poll before the occupation
of the legislature indicated that more than 70 percent of respondents
supported a line-by-line review of the pact.

“The level of public trust with President Ma and his government is really
low throughout the country, and the review of this pact has been very
cursory,” said Wu Hsiang-min, a 30-year-old engineer who joined the
black-clad protesters Sunday in central Taipei. “So I felt that if the
students were willing to stand up on this matter, then I should stand up,
too.”

On Saturday, Mr. Ma attempted to respond to some of the students’ demands,
saying he would back an itemized review of the trade pact and a law that
would allow the legislature to more closely monitor agreements with
Beijing.

Mr. Ma said he was opposed to demands that the pact, which was signed by
quasi-governmental organizations representing Taiwan and China last year
but still needs legislative approval, should be withdrawn. The president
has said that the deal is necessary for Taiwan’s economy to maintain its
competitiveness with regional rivals like South Korea, and that failure to
approve it could harm Taiwan’s ability to enter into other trade
agreements.

Mr. Ma’s Kuomintang controls the legislature, with 65 of 113 seats,
meaning it can eventually win approval of the measure. Protesters had
called for Mr. Ma, as the party’s chairman, to relax rules that enforce
discipline on voting by its members in the expectation that some K.M.T.
legislators might oppose aspects of the pact. Mr. Ma said Saturday that
such decisions were made by the party’s legislative caucus and not
directly under his control.

On Saturday, a much smaller demonstration of a few thousand people
gathered outside Taipei’s central train station to show support for Mr.
Ma’s government. “I want the students to leave the legislature,” said
Chang Wei-feng, 24, from Taichung in central Taiwan. “You can’t use this
sort of occupation in the middle of a democratic process.”