Taiwan celebrates the first anniversary of "Sunflowers", seeds of democracy
Taipei (AsiaNews)
- The government of Taiwan has "celebrated" the first anniversary of
the Sunflower Movement with a massive deployment of security forces to guard
the rally outside the Parliament convened last night to celebrate the event .
Despite the tense atmosphere, a large number of people have attended. In the
afternoon, representatives of various opposition groups had marched around the
parliament building, now shielded by the police.
The Sunflower Student Movement - (太陽花 學運) broke out when a huge
number of students decided to occupy Parliament for 23 days starting from March
18 (the movement is in fact also called 3-18) . The protest was against a free
trade agreement with China that put at risk the economic development of the
island. After the protests, the government had to revise the text.
What has remained of the movement? The new mayor of Taipei Ke Wen-je (柯文哲),
elected last November 29, expressed particular praise for the students and
their struggle for freedom of expression. The mayor's opinion is of particular
importance right now in Taiwan: his direct, honest and unbiased way of talking
in front of cameras, reveals that he is not in awe of the big industries and
private companies that dominate the economy.
He is earning particular sympathy among people across the political spectrum
because he puts the interests of citizens before those of big business. Ke has
stressed the demand for transparency that is sought by the younger generation:
"Those elected to government must respond to citizens before banks and
company directors."
One of the student leaders, Chen Wei-ting (陳 為 廷), has
recalled how the Sunflowers Movement created "something fresh and
unexpected." He also emphasized that the original purity of the movement's
purpose must be safeguarded and not allowed slip into violence, referring to
the clashes on the night of March 23 when some tried to occupy the government
palace, an attempt foiled by the intervention of police special forces.
What is certain is that the "Sunflowers" have born abundant fruit,
that has yet to be fully realized. The recent municipal elections, in late
November, expressed an almost unanimous rejection of the government and the
Kuomintang (國民黨) line and were a very strong blow to a substantially secret style in
drawing up economic and trade agreements with the mainland. Moreover, many are
of the opinion that Hong Kong's umbrellas movement was inspired and encouraged
by Taipei's Sunflowers.
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18/02/2021 12:50
