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On March 18, 2014, students in Taipei, took over the chambers of Taiwan’s legislative building and staged the first ever sit-in of the legislative body. They are angry over the current administration’s, the Kuomingtang (KMT)’s, use of heavy-handed measures to push the Cross-Strait Services Trade Agreement (CSSTA) through the legislature without discussing it item by item. Riot police have been working on clearing the protesters out of the building (bloodily) since the sit-ins started.

The agreement is another part of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which was agreed upon in 2010. The first part expanded trade between the two countries and set the foundation for the current agreement, the CSSTA, which will open the services sectors of the two countries to fewer barriers.

The agreement’s measures are unknown to the majority of the Taiwanese, and the protesters fear that the employment of the CSSTA will result in China having too much power over Taiwan.

At first glance, it looks like an unpopular economic agreement. It’s opaque, and it opens up a huge number of sectors to direct investment by a major economic power. Also, the only parties that seem to benefit from the deal on the Taiwan side are the rich and major corporations. China is a huge market, and it would make sense to move into it, but the only entities able to do so are already rich, connected, and have the capital and logistical support required.

When you look again, you realize it is much more political in nature. It is political in a domestic, as well as an international sense. Many of the protesters see a breach of democracy with the way the prime minister, Ma Ying-jeou, and the KMT did not open up the discussion to the public, purposely failed to invite relevant experts to review the agreement, and used loopholes in parliamentary procedure to push the agreement through the legislature. According to The Diplomat, media that is “close to the administration” claimed that the protests are “undemocratic” (which is obviously contrary to the truth).

This agreement is also very important from an international perspective. While CSSTA would most likely increase Taiwan’s GDP (and “improve” its economy as far as free trade theorists are concerned), it will also bring Chinese companies, and with them, the Chinese government into everyday Taiwanese life. A great deal of Chinese companies are still owned and operated by the government. If Chinese companies are able to access sectors such as education, healthcare, banking, and insurance, as they will be able under CSSTA, then the Chinese government will be able to as well.

When you look beyond the surface, you’ll see that from the protesters’ point of view, the passage of CSSTA is much more than opposing an opaque economic agreement, or even the executive branch of a government who is taking too much control, or against riot police beating peaceful protesters. It is a fight for survival of an entire country.

Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), was once based on the mainland of China that we now know as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, the Communist Party took control of the mainland and formed the PRC in 1949, and the ROC was forced to relocate to the island of Taiwan. The ROC was recognized by the world as the “true China” until 1971, when the PRC replaced Taiwan at the United Nations. Today, only 21 countries maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. China sees Taiwan as a rogue province rather than an independent country, and is trying to force Taiwan into its fold.

Both the ECFA and CSSTA are much better deals for Taiwan than they are from China from an economic point of view. Taiwan is a small market compared to China, and the terms are much more favorable for Taiwan. However, China is allowing the deal to be relatively economically one-sided so it could meet its political goals.

To paraphrase from an impassioned essay written by Taiwanese lawyer Richard Chiou-yuan Lu:

“If Taiwan were to hold a referendum on independence, the Chinese government might order its companies to cease operations in Taiwan… Beijing would have our credit card records and hospital records in hand. With such a scenario staring us in the face, could we still hold the referendum?

The truth is that if the counterparty to the agreement were a country other than China — or a democratized China that would treat Taiwan as an equal and stop trying to achieve its political agenda through business, and didn’t want to swallow us up — we’d happily accept the pact.”

The protests may have resulted in some good news, however. Despite saying that he would not meet with the student protesters, Ma Ying-jeou has changed his mind and said that he will. Hopefully, this will help lead to some of the protesters’ demands being met.

Taiwan is a democracy worth preserving. The historical and political ties that China has with Taiwan make it a very appealing target to bring further into its sphere of influence. By finally making Taiwan a de facto part of China, the government will achieve both the domestic goal of maintaining its legitimacy with the people, and the international goal of showing the world that it has the political, economic, and military weight to do what it likes.

To sum up the feelings of the opponents of the KMT’s approval of the CSSTA, as well as the protesters’ dislike for the Chinese government, we can again turn to Mr. Lu:

“But why is it that when it comes to China, we won’t give an inch? It’s because we’re afraid of you, China. Really. We’re very afraid.”

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