Introduction
Taiwan Sunflower Student Movement (太陽花學運) Mar 18, 2014 – Apr 10, 2014
In June 2013, KMT, the ruling part of Taiwan at that time, signed the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA) with the People’s Republic of China, which caused a large scale of protests from Mar 18 to Apr 10, 2014, from Taiwan. Students and civic groups protest against the trade pact with the People’s Republic of China because it would not only hurt Taiwan’s economy, but also put Taiwan under political pressure from Beijing. Protesters also questioned the democratic system of Taiwan and called for true democracy. People went on protests holding sunflowers which represented the symbol of hope in the dark period of democracy. These protests were known as Taiwan Sunflower Student Movement (太陽花學運) later and received great sympathy from young generations in East Asia. Students and activists in Taiwan also allied with other groups of protesters in Hong Kong and Japan. For example, in Japan, the demonstrations and protests, organized by SEALDs (short for Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy 自由と民主主義のための学生緊急行動) from 2015 to 2016 against the legislation to reinterpret Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution calling for true democracy, were strongly influenced by the Taiwan Sunflower Student Movement.
Books
太陽花運動後的兩岸關係與南臺灣 by Call Number: DS799.848 .T34 2015ISBN: 9789867013934Publication Date: 高雄市 : 樹德科技大學兩岸和平研究中心, 2015.
Articles
- Inside Taiwan's Sunflower Movement: Twenty-Four Days in a Student-Occupied Parliament, and the Future of the Region“Say goodbye to Taiwan,” wrote political scientist John Mearsheimer in a widely read article in the March-April 2014 issue of The National Interest. Threatened by China's rising economic might and abandoned by a weakening United States, one of Asia's most vibrant democracies was facing, in his “realist” analysis, an almost inevitable annexation via economic if not military force. “Time,” he wrote, “is running out for the little island coveted by its gigantic, growing neighbor.” But only days after publication, on March 18, activists and armchair analysts alike said hello to a new reality.