Press Contacts: Mu-MinShi, Doctoral Student, leoforlion@gmail.com, Department of Asian Studies, University of Texas at Austin Jacie Yang, Assistant Professor, jacieyang@gmail.com, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Texas State University.
March 30, 2014.
Students at StateCapitol Protest Over Taiwan Government Trade Pact with China
AUSTIN, Texas - March30, 2014 - Hundredsof students gathered in front of the Texas Capitol on Sunday to protest theTaiwanese government’s impending trade pact withChina.
The protest inAustin, Texas, was one of more than 45 such protests in cities all over theworld, held to show support for college students in Taiwan who have beenoccupying the Legislature there since March 18. The students are accusing theTaiwanese Legislature of rushing into signing an agreement that may give awayTaiwan’s autonomy and democracy.
In June, representativesfrom Taiwan and China signed the trade pact, the Cross-Strait Service TradeAgreement. Many in Taiwan fear that the agreement would damage varioussectors of Taiwan’s economy, as well as accomplish Beijing’s unification goals.
The trade pactis awaiting ratification by the TaiwaneseLegislature. On March 17, the Legislature pushed through the second reading ofthe pact within 30 seconds, a severely flawed procedure that prompted more than400 college students to occupy the Legislature the next day. In Taiwan, a billneeds to pass three readings in the Legislature to become effective. The pactis scheduled for the third reading before the end of June this year.
The Taiwanesestudents protesting at the Texas State Capitol, as well as Taiwanese studentsall over the world, are asking the Taiwanese government and Legislature to abrogate the pact and not to use any police forceagainst protesting students in Taiwan.
Although the protestin Taiwan began in mid-March, it had not received international attention untila group of students occupied the Executive Yuan –equivalentto Premier of the Prime Minister– of the government on March 23, overthe dissatisfaction with President Ma’s response to students’ demand. Thegovernment ordered the police to crack down on students at the Executive Yuan,causing more than 150 to be injured.
The police, armedwith batons and shields, used water cannon to break up the protesting students.While the Taiwanese government emphasized the police broke up the protesterspeacefully, videos uploaded by people who were at the scene showed policeofficers beat the protesters with batons and shields.
The U.S. State Departmentexpressed support for Taiwan on March 24.
"We certainly support Taiwan's vibrant democracy, whichallows for this kind of robust political dialogue on a range of issues," State Department Deputy SpokespersonMarie Harf said inthe daily briefing. “We hope that the discussion can be conducted peacefullyand civilly.”
In Texas, thegroup of students who are at the State Capitol has also gone to the TaipeiEconomic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston, asking the TECO to accept theirpetition.Mu-MinShi, a doctoral student of Asian Studies at University of Texas-Austin, hasbeen organizing the student movement in Texas. He said that the Taiwanesegovernment has violated the principles of democracy by trying to push throughthe trade pact. “We are protecting democracy in Taiwan on a moral level.”