The youth of Taiwan have for years been seen as being so soft and easily squashed theyve been dubbed the strawberry generation by their hardworking elders. But a student-led movement that has crystallized opposition to a trade pact with China is proving that young Taiwanese are a force to be reckoned with. Since protesters smashed a glass entrance door to break into the national legislatures assembly hall, a student-led occupation has remained firmly in place, passing a 15th day Tuesday. On Sunday, more than a hundred thousand Taiwanese gathered outside the presidents office in Taipei to oppose the services trade pact, in one of the largest demonstrations Taiwans fractious democracy has seen in recent years. Few have been as surprised by the movements staying power and popular support as the student leaders themselves. Our thought at the beginning was very simple, that we wouldnt last for a night before the police forced us out. We thought they would take us out by force. But later it turned out this didnt happen, said Lin Fei-Fan, one of the organizers. The first day we took over the legislature, there were four attempts to evict us, but we held our ground. Protesters in Taiwans so-called Sunflower Movement are hunkering down as antigovernment rallies hit the two-week mark. The WSJs Ramy Inocencio speaks with Jenny Hsu in Taipei on a government-backed trade deal that critics say favor Beijing. Mr. Lin, a 25-year-old political science graduate student, and Chen Wei-ting, a 24-year-old graduate student in sociology, are the key leaders in the movement. They have been credited for bringing discipline to what their detractors have called an undemocratic mob. Their articulate criticisms of the pact have swayed the public. Stevie Lee, a classmate of Mr. Chens at National Tsing Hua University and a media coordinator for the protesters, said that his friends and Mr. Lins personalities complement each other. Reserved and methodical Mr. Lin is seen as the heart of the movement while Mr. Chen, known for being aggressive but inattentive to details, as the guts, said Mr. Lee and other students and protesters. Mr. Chen has been known as a hothead since he flung a flip-flop at a county magistrate in 2013 in anger over a dispute over residential land being expropriated for an industrial park. Mr. Lin has become the movements public idol, with stores selling out of his trademark green jacket. Student protest leader Lin Fei-Fan speaks during demonstrations against a trade agreement with China, in front of the Presidential Palace in Taipei on March 30, 2014. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Taiwan has deep political fissures. Some support reunification with China—an antagonist from a civil war—while some are sharply opposed and a majority prefers a status quo of economic ties while leaving political relations unaddressed. Opposition to the pact which was signed last year and which would liberalize trade and investment in services has been building in Taiwan. But it was catalyzed when the ruling Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, used a legislative maneuver to move the pact out of committee for a full vote, bypassing an agreement with the opposition to examine the pact section by section. Mr. Lin said he doesnt object to doing business with China. The protest movements objections, Mr. Lin said, is that the trade deal favors conglomerates while leaving smaller players at risk. In doing, the pact will likely increase unemployment among young Taiwanese and make Taiwan more economically reliant on the mainland, undermining the islands democracy, Mr. Lin said. Student protest leader Chen Wei-ting speaks during demonstrations in front of the Presidential Palace in Taipei on March 30, 2014. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images President Ma Ying-jeou, who has staked his political reputation on building closer economic ties to the mainland, has rejected calls to retract the pact. But he has agreed to set up a monitoring mechanism for future trade deals, not the current agreement as protesters have demanded. Mr. Ma has commended the students in general for being rational and tenacious. The fact the students are willing to sacrifice their time to express their belief, just this alone is very touching, he said at a news conference last week. Such regard was by no means certain. That first night when the protesters surprisingly found themselves inside the Legislative Yuan building was chaotic. Photos showed the students, mostly in their 20s, drinking beer, making out behind desks and going through the lawmakers belongings. Several reporters who witnessed the invasion described the students as a bunch of unruly punks. In less than 24 hours, Messrs. Lin and Chen reminded students the entire country was watching them, imposing order that quickly turned the image around. Inside the hall, they set up recycling bins. Several video cameras were set up inside the chamber to provide a live feed for anyone wanting to watch online. Outside the building, students volunteered to direct traffic. More on the Protests in Taiwan Order broke down briefly when one group of students sought to spread the occupation to the cabinets building, the Executive Yuan, on March 23. After they broke in, police evicted the crowd, and Mr. Lin distanced himself from those trying to expand confrontation. Those students had indeed discussed their plans with us. But my main goal is to keep hold of the legislature. We cant let go of this spot, because it is our biggest bargaining chip with the government, Mr. Lin said in an interview last week in a small room inside the legislature. Now studying for a masters at prestigious National Taiwan University, Mr. Lin grew up in the southern city of Tainan, where his parents run a food business. He got his first taste of student protest in 2008 in an island-wide student-initiated mass demonstration against the visit of a senior Chinese official. When I saw the police brutality on the protesters, I realized Taiwan was far from being a true democracy governed by the rule of the law, said Mr. Lin. Fei-fan speaks from the heart, said Eric Chang, who met Mr. Lin at the 2008 protest and who is a writer at Next Media Animation. He describes Mr. Lin as willing to stick his neck out for what he believes in. Mr. Chen came at politics earlier. He grew up in northwestern Taiwan and was raised by an uncle. He excelled academically and qualified to enter the elite Taipei Municipal Jinguo High School, President Mas school. In 2006, for a school newspaper assignment, Mr. Chen visited a Taipei community in Taipei to report on a feud between the government and residents upset that the area was being turned into a public park. When I saw how the residents were helpless against the government, I realized what I was learned at school about the government was a lie, he said. In the next few years, he took part in a string of social causes, from labor rights to the rights of the Taiwanese aborigines. To support himself, he has worked in various odd jobs including selling made in Taiwan umbrella and socks on the streets. For now, Messrs. Chen and Lin said they are focused on the fight against the trade pact. Civil disobedience is about breaking the rules, said Mr. Lin. If not, how do you expect to fight the system you disagree with and install the policies you know are just and fair? online.wsj/news/articles/SB10001424052702304157204579474921714770440#printMode
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 01:22:35 +0000
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