6/15/2015

China Policy Institute Blog Debunking the Myths About Taiwans Sunflower Movement

UniversityofNottingham>Blogs>ChinaPolicyInstituteBlog>OccupyTaiwan>DebunkingtheMythsAbout
TaiwansSunflowerMovement

//BlogPost
UoNBlogs(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/)/ChinaPolicyInstituteBlog

(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute)

April4,2014,byEditor(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/author/ldzjls/)

Debunking the Myths About

Taiwans Sunflower Movement
WrittenbyJ.MichaelCole.
In the absence of knowledge, fall back on conspiracies. This is what many foreign analysts and the Taiwanese
government have done as they try to explain and more importantly deal with the activists occupation of the
LegislativeYuan(LY),whichisnowonitseighteenthday.
Accordingtotheofficialnarrative,theSunflowerMovement,whichontheeveningofMarch18begananunprecedented
occupation of the legislature (http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/taiwaneseoccupylegislatureoverchinapact/),
cameofoutnowhere.Aftermonthsofcircusandtheoccasionalskirmishonthelegislativeflooroverthecontroversial
CrossStraitServicesTradeAgreement(CSSTA)signedwithChinainJune2013,youngactivistsactingasproxiesofthe
oppositionDemocraticProgressiveParty(DPP)climbedoverthefence,slippedbythepolice,andinvadedtheLY.The
studentleadersandacademicswhoturnedthelegislativefloor,andthentheentireareasurroundingtheLY,intoasea
ofplacards,bannersandposters,werebutthecontinuationofasinisterDPPpolicywhosesoleintentwastoprevent
the passage of the trade agreement. Incapable of countering the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which enjoyed a
majority of seats in the legislature, the DPP had resorted to undemocratic means and mob role to try to defeat
governmentpolicy.
Formany,theSunflowerMovementhadbeentoospontaneousandorganizedtonothavehadastructure,prompting
one KMT legislator to use the unfortunate example of alQaeda to describe the protesters. Hence the belief, held by
governmentofficials,themediaandforeignobservers,thattheDPPhadorchestratedthewholething.Onlythemain
oppositionparty,withitscontactsandfinancialresources,couldhaveachievedsuchafeat,whicheventuallyledtothe
occupation (http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/riotpolicecrackdownontaiwaneseprotesters/), albeit brief, of the
ExecutiveYuan(EY)nextdoor.
Orsothestorywent.
But theres a problem with this theory its completely wrong. In fact, the entire DPP apparatus could be thrown
behindbarstomorrowandthiswouldhavealmostzeroeffectonthemovement.Failingtounderstandthisresultsina
failuretounderstandjusthowresilientanddeeprootedthemovementis.
Taiwanese government officials and the local media should have known better, but for selfserving or ideological
reasons,orsimplybecausetheyweretoolazytoseethesigns,theychosetoignorethefacts.Fortheirpart,foreign
mediaandacademicshavebeengettingitwrongbecausetheywereeithernotpayingattentionorwerepoorlyserved
by journalists and editors who neglected important developments on the island. Most were notorious for their lack of
interest in, and curiosity about, the mobilization of civil society, whose efforts in the past 24 months had been
snowballing.
For those of us who covered the constellation of activist movements that agitated during that period, the events of
March18andthesubsequentcrisiswerealmostinevitable.Theoccupationwasbutthelogicalnextsteptomounting
pressures and dissatisfaction with a government that on a plethora of issues had simply been ignoring democratic
proceduresand,insomeinstances,thelaw.Afewamongus,academicsandjournalists,soughttoalerttherestofthe
world to this coming crisis, only to be told by foreign editors that domestic events on the island were too inside
baseball. For reasons that ought to be explored in another essay, with a few rare exceptions American media and
academicswereparticularlyuninterestedinwhatwasgoingoninTaiwan.TheirEuropeancounterpartsweresomewhat
more curious, which perhaps reflects a stronger tradition of rebellion in the Old World, or an understanding that
Taiwanshistorydidnotendwhentheislanddemocratizedinthelate1980s.
ItslittlewonderthenthatwhenU.S.expertsonTaiwanweighedinontheSunflowercrisis,theyhadnoideawhatthey
weretalkingaboutandwereforcedtorelyonofficialinformationandfallbackonconspiracytheories.

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China Policy Institute Blog Debunking the Myths About Taiwans Sunflower Movement

A prime example were comments by David Brown, a SAIS scholar and board member of the American Institute in
Taiwan(AIT).RespondingtoanopenletterbyDPPLegislatorHsiaoBikhim,Brownhadveryfewpositivethingstosay
about the movement. It is remarkable that the students reacted so quickly that same evening [March 18] to occupy
the LY, Brown told The Nelson Report on March 28. The KMT has accused the DPP of instigating this action, an
accusationthatmanybelieve.UnnamedDPPpoliticianswerereportedlyonthescenelaterthateveningandtheparty
endorsedtheactionthefollowingday,andthenencouragedallitsmemberstosupportthestudentsillegaloccupation.
Brown continued: So rather than have the DPP LY caucus responsible for continuing to block consideration of the
[CS]STA, wasnt it in the DPPs interest to have students play that role? [] the DPP will go to whatever lengths are
necessary to block the majority when their key interests are involved or when it suits the DPPs election mobilization
goalstoexploitissuesforpoliticaladvantage.
Unsurprisingly,

Browns

comments

sparked

very

different

reactions

(http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201403310017.aspx) on both sides of the equation. Progovernment media in

TaiwansplashedthemasevidenceofAIT,andbyreboundU.S.government,disapprovalofthestudentledmovement.
For the other side, this was either proof that Brown was a paid agent of the KMT or that AIT had a secret agenda
against the DPP. In reality, both sides were wrong. Brown was not speaking on behalf of AIT, as he is only a board
member,norwasheahatchetmanontheMaYingjeougovernmentpayroll.Hedsimplyinvolvedhimselfintoavery
complexissuewithoutfullyunderstandingitscontext.Andwhocouldblamehim,giventhatthemediahelikelyrelied
uponforhisinformationaboutTaiwanoftencouldnttellthedifferencebetweentheLegislativeYuanandtheExecutive
Yuan?However,sourcestellmethatBrownhadntsetfootinTaiwaninaboutsevenyears,sadlyanotunusualabsence
foracademicsthatareconsideredexpertsontheislandspolitics.
SotherewasnodarkU.S.governmentplottopainttheSunflowerMovementinabadlight,thoughthatisnttosaythat
Washingtondoesnthaveitsbiasesandpreferences,asevidencedbytheNationalSecurityCouncilsrathercrudeleak
(http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b591c26ae04611e0ba1200144feabdc0.html#axzz2xuGOWQLr) to the Financial
Times during a September 2011 visit by Tsai Yingwen, the then DPPs candidate in the following years presidential
election,orinappropriateremarks (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/world/asia/formerunitedstatesenvoy
remarkscauseuproarintaiwan.html?_r=0) by former AIT director Douglas Paal to panblue media during the same
election.Infact,itcouldbearguedthattheunderlyingbiasesagainsttheDPPinWashingtonhelpreinforceperceptions
that tend to reinforce their views on complex issues such as the current occupation of the LY. Unfortunately for the
SunflowerMovementanditssupporters,thiscognitiveslantisahandicap,astheytendtobeputinthesamebasketas
theDPP.
A few days later, Alan Romberg of the Stimson Center also entered the fray with comments of his own, which were
reproducedinTheNelsonReportonApril1.Whilesomewhatmorereceptivetothemovement,Rombergnevertheless
hadissueswiththeiractions.
[O]neshouldtakethestudentsconcernsseriouslyandnotsimplydismissthem.Thefactthatstudentsfeelstrongly
enough to take a visible stance is commendable and an encouraging sign of the strength of Taiwans democracy, he
wrote.Butthencamethecriticism:Atthesametime,while,asanAmericanIverymuchrespectfreespeech,Iamnot
in favor of activities that disrupt the government, either in the LY or the EY, and I regret any suggestion that the
studentshavebeenencouragedtoproceedalongthatcourse.
Like Brown, Romberg appeared to be commenting on issues that he only partially understood. In his case, what was
missingwasthecontextinwhichtheoccupationhadoccurred,whichonecouldonlyunderstandifhewasawareofthe
24monthsthatprecededtheoccupation.Throughoutthatperiod,everypeacefulanddemocraticmeanshadbeentried
bycivilsociety,academics,NGOsandlawyerstodealwiththeproblematicCSSTAandseveralotherissues,fromforced
evictions to the mistreatment of army conscripts. For their rational and nonoccupational efforts, they were rewarded
withgovernmentcontempt,farcicalpublichearings,policeshields,courtsummons,andfines.
Again,unlessRombergwaspayingattentiontoTaiwansundergroundandChineselanguagemediawheretheonly
consistent coverage about Taiwans increasingly ebullient social forces was taking place or was here physically to
observetheclashesanddisappointments,hecouldnothaveknownthatthenextstep,shortofcapitulation,hadtobe
escalation. There were already signs that this was happening. On Jan. 25 a 41yearold truck driver crashed his 35
tonne
truck
into
the
Presidential
Office.
Writing
of
the
incident
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/01/26/arudeawakeningfortaiwanspresidentialoffice/)

for the CPI Blog, this author concluded by saying, [W]hile walls can be erected to ensure better protection [at the
Presidential Office], they will do absolutely nothing to resolve the widening chasm between those in power and the
growingnumberofordinaryTaiwanesewhohavelostfaithintheabilityoftheirgovernmenttoruletheircountry.This
wasalittlelessthantwomonthspriortotheoccupationoftheLY.
The executive and the legislative branches were no longer working the mechanism of democratic governance was
failing the public who had entrusted officials with its operations. This included the very DPP that is alleged to have
mastermindedthestudentoccupation,whichinrealitycouldnothavecaredlessfortheeffortsofcivilsocietyinrecent
years.ThemishandlingoftheCSSTAandthefearsthatthepactawakenedamongpoliticallyawareyoungTaiwanese
wasthesparkthatsettheprairieonfire.Tooutsiderswhohadntbeenpayingattention,itlookedlikeaspontaneous
eruption of madness by students who had nothing better to do than to interrupt the operations of government. In
reality,theiractionswereawakeupcalllonginthemaking,followingmanyscreamsthatweresimplyignoredbythe
world,includingresearcherswhomakeTaiwantheirexpertise,andmediathatwerefailingtoconnectthedotsforthem,
asthisauthorwroteinhispartingshot (http://fareasternpotato.blogspot.tw/2013/11/failingtoconnectdots.html)
fromtheTaipeiTimesinNovember2013.
Now their call has been heard, and it is important that the international community fully understand what it is and
whereitcomesfrom.Facileconspiracytheoriesandthelazyregurgitationofstatepropagandawillnotdoandarethe
surestwaytoensurethattheproblemwontgoaway.ItstimeforTaiwanexpertsandinternationalmediatodotheir
homeworkagain.
J

Michael

Cole

is

Taipeibased

analyst

and

writer.

His

personal

blog

is

here

(http://fareasternpotato.blogspot.tw/)andhetweets@jmichaelcole1 (https://twitter.com/JMichaelCole1).Michael

isaCPIblogRegularContributorandNonResidentSeniorFellowintheChinaPolicyInstitute.ImagebyJ.MichaelCole.

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TowardsIntrastateWars

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Comments
Postacomment

JeromeBessonApril8,2014at9:40pm
Inyearstocome,thisFormosanyouthuprisingwillbeconstruedasthewatershedeventthatpreventeda
derelictFormosaMarudriftingfurtherwestinthefogofambiguitytowardsthetreacherousshoalsoftheChinese
easternseaboard.Atdawn,allsunflowersfacetherisingsun.
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=660972#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment660972)Quote(#)

MichaelFagan(http://www.mirrorsignalmove.blogspot.com)April7,2014at7:11pm
OntheparticularchargewhichColerebuffsherethattheSunflowerprotestsareaproxyoftheDPPthereis
afurtherpointtobeanswered,whichisthathowevermuchatarmslengththestudentshavekepttheDPPfor
tacticalreasons,thereisneverthelessanobviousideologicalaffinitybetweenthem.WhoamongtheDPPs
leaderssince2000wouldnothaveredrawnTaiwansconstitutionalsystemalongthelinesproposedbyLinFei
Fanrecently,ifonlytheycouldhavepulleditoff?Surelynone.
WhatworriesmeistheideologicaltermsofthebroaderSunflowermovementandwhatthesesignify.
Fartoooftenthesalientpointofprotestagainstthegovernmentsvarioustransgressionsoverthepastfour
yearshasnotbeenthatthesetransgressionsinvolvedviolationsofpropertyrights,thoughthatisanaspect
commontoallofthem,butthatthesetransgressionswerecarriedoutbythegovernmentatthebehestofthe
rich,orofthecorporations,orofChineseinterests.Thattheywereallviolationsofthefirstprincipleof
capitalism,privateproperty,hasbeenneglected.
Totakejustoneparticularcase(theDapucaseinMiaolilastyear),whichwasasobviousacaseofgovernment
theftofprivatepropertyonecouldfind,theneedtoprotestwaspresentedasamatterofsocialjusticerather
thanjustplainjustice,quaadefenceofpropertyrights.Consequentially,theprotestleadersdidnotcallforthe
LandExpropriationActtoberepealed,butonlyforittobeamended.Foralltheirtalkofhumanrightsitseems
that,whenpushcomestoshove,theyreallyjustthinkthatrightscanbereplacedwithpoliticallycontingent
permissions.Somuchfordefendingthepoor.
Insum,IamasconcernedwithwhattheSunflowerprotestersareforaswhattheyareagainst.Consider,for
instance,theobviouscravingsofthis(http://kanruwu.tumblr.com/post/81601031560/openlettertothe
sunflowermovement)individual.
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=659552#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment659552)Quote(#)

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MingSyuanJhongApril7,2014at6:03pm
AsaTaiwanesestudentstudyU.S.historyandsomeU.S.foreignrelationship,IcanseewhyTaiwanisnot
particularlyattractivetotheU.S.audiences.First,Taiwandoesnthavenaturalresources,likeCentralAsia.
ThereisnoreasonforU.S.topayattentiontotheIslandinthelongterm.Intermsofmilitaryvalue,since
ChineseheldsomanyU.S.bonds.Americanneedtoworryabouttheirfinancialcrisismorethananythingelse
andthereisnoU.S.militarybaseontheIsland.ThereisnoreasonforU.S.militaryintelligencestopay
attentiontoTaiwan,either.ForU.S.civilians,TaiwanisnotaThirdWorldcountry.Taiwanhavefairlygoodsocial
welfare,healthcaresystem,andstronglocalcharitygroups.ThereisnoroomforWesternCharitytosettheir
footinTaiwanorlobbyingforTaiwan.Finally,forU.S.Chinesescholars,TaiwanistooWesternized.Itdoesnt
servetheroleofcriticizingU.S.imperialism.Inotherwords,Taiwandonthaveacademicvalue.
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=659512#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment659512)Quote(#)

NathanW.Novak(http://eastasiaobserver.wordpress.com/)April6,2014at6:36am
Iagreewithmuchofwhattheauthorcontributeshere.But,asanAmerican,Icanalso,Ithink,humblyadda
littlemore.
Thisisnotmerelyanissueofreporting.Itisamindset.TheAmericanfiremanIdontusetheterm
policemanbecausepolicemenhavenumerousjobsbeyondquellingdisturbancesisjustthat:hismindsetis,if
heisntrescuingkittensfromtrees,lookingforsmoke.FortheaverageAmerican,whocantseemtogetthat
TaiwanisnotThailand,Taiwanisbarelyworthablip.FortheAmericanwhoknowsTaiwan,Taiwanismuchmore
thanthat,butweareaverysmallminorityandifoneisnotaTaiwaneseAmerican,oneismerelybeinga
Hemingway(anddeservescastigationforit)injoiningTaiwansfight.
TheAmericanmindsetforthosewhohavestudiedTaiwanandenteredpoliticsisquitesimple:theissuewhether
TaiwanandChinadragtheUnitedStatesintoashootingwar.TheChinesearewinningthebattleformany
reasons,nottheleastofwhicharea)usingAmericanfeartokeeptheTaiwandogonaleashasitdidinthe
secondGeorgeW.Bushadministration,andb)theproChinapresidentofTaiwan,MaYingjeou,astheexample
ofwarmingrelations.WhenwasthelasttimethatarelativelyhighprofilebookwaspublishedintheUnited
StatesthatdealtwithTaiwanasTaiwanandnotaspartofacrossStraitproblem?Booksarewrittenfor
reasonsespeciallybythosewhohavetheearofcertainAmericanpoliticalgroups.Thisshouldbeindicative.
Simplyput,fortheAmericanfireman,Taiwanisjustonepuffofsmokeamidawholeworldofsmokepuffs,
someofthemsmoldering,andsomeofthemraginginfernos.EverythinghavingtodowithTaiwanisviewed
throughthislens.IhighlydoubttheAmericangovernmentasksmuchofAITinthefirstplaceunlessanything
theTaiwangovernmentdoesupsetsChina.Passports,visas,otherdailyroutinesaside,Iseriouslydoubtthe
U.S.governmentasksAITofficialstogooutandpokearound.Theyaskfordailybriefsandskimthemfor
Chinasreactiontosuchandsuchastatement,suchandsuchapolicy.
Onepersonstatedtometheotherday(alocal)andanothertoday(aforeigner)thatAITsucksonein
Mandarin(AIT),oneinEnglish.Irepliedtoboth:No,AITdoesntsuck.TheU.S.
governmentdoes.Itdoesntwantdiplomatsandpeoplewhounderstandthesituationonthegrounditwants
firemen.
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=657742#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment657742)Quote(#)

J.MichaelColeApril7,2014at6:47am
ThanksfortheobservationsNathan.Lotstoagreewith.IfImay,Ididsubsequentlyturnmysightson
theinstitutionofU.S.government(andotherdiplomats)inarelatedblogentry,whichcanbeaccessed
here:http://fareasternpotato.blogspot.tw/2014/04/tounderstandworldyoumustengage
it.html(http://fareasternpotato.blogspot.tw/2014/04/tounderstandworldyoumustengageit.html)
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=658872#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment658872)Quote(#)

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ViewthereplytoJ.MichaelCole'scomment

EricGulottyApril5,2014at2:16pm
Iverymuchappreciatealloftheworkyoudohere,andusuallyagreewitheverythingyouwrite.Iamtroubled
however,abouttheassessmentofDavidBrownsresponsetotheopenletterwrittenbyDPPCongresswoman
.Mr.Brownsfacewasspatteredalloverthelocalnewspapersprominently.Hisopinionwasputonthenews
headlinetickersofmostoftheKMTfriendlymedia.Ihaveahardtimebelievingthatthiswasnotaconcerted
efforttodiscreditthemovement.Ihaveaveryhardtimebelievingthatanexperiencedforeignserviceofficer
wouldwritesuchaletterwithnoprovisoastowhomitmaybesharedwith.IhaveyettoseeMr.Brownput
forthastatementregrettingthathemadesuchillinformedstatementseither.Ithinkhe,likemanyforeignersof
acertainage,liketothinkthatthosepeopleinTaiwanwouldntknowanybetter.IspecificallyaskedtheAITif
hewaspaid,andthatasaBoardmemberheshouldberesponsibleenoughtosayhewasnt.Letterstothird
partiesdontaccidentlyshowupinalmosteverylocalnewspaper,especiallywithapersonspicturenexttoit.
Someoneputsthemthere.Youmightbekindenoughtobelievehedidntknowwhathewasdoing,butImnot
buyingitonebit.
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=656742#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment656742)Quote(#)

MAnthonyApril5,2014at4:36am
Narrativesthatdenounceanddisapproveofpeoplearespreadingominouslyinoursociety.Thenew
narrativesthatoughttochallengethemhaveyettobecomefreeoftheoldnarrativesthatstillremainwithin
them.
GenichiroTakahashi,professorofJapaneseliterature,MeijiGakuinUniversity(quotedinAsahiShimbin
4/5/2014)
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=656012#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment656012)Quote(#)

MichaelFagan(http://www.mirrorsignalmove.blogspot.com)April5,2014at4:16am
PerhapstheconcernoverwhatsomeonefromtheStimsonCentresaysorsomeonefromtheAITsaysis
overblown.IftheirpronouncementsarethesourceofinformationfordecisionmakersinWashington,then
thosedecisionmakersaresimplynotdoingtheirjobsproperly.Ifthatisthecase,thenwhyworrywhattheywill
decideanywayiftheycantbearsedtokeepaneyeonTaiwaninthefirstplace,thentherewouldseemlittle
reasontothinktheydtakeTaiwaneseinterestsseriously.
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=655982#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment655982)Quote(#)

ChiHsuApril4,2014at6:46pm
Theauthorspendstheentirefirsthalfofthearticlesayingthatothercommentatorsfailedtonoticewhatwas
goingoninTaiwan,theninabriefsentencestates:
Again,unlessRombergwaspayingattentiontoTaiwansundergroundandChineselanguagemediawhere
theonlyconsistentcoverageaboutTaiwansincreasinglyebullientsocialforceswastakingplaceorwashere
physicallytoobservetheclashesanddisappointments,hecouldnothaveknownthatthenextstep,shortof
capitulation,hadtobeescalation.

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Nodetailsareprovided,onlyanexampleofatruckdriverdrivingintothePresidentialOffice.Theremainderof
thearticlefailstoaddressorelaborateindetailonwhattheseclashesanddisappointmentswereand
presupposesthatthereaderswillaccepthisclaimsatfacevalue.Thereisalsonocomprehensivedissectionof
theintroductorytheoryaboutpoliticalorchestrationoftheinitialoccupationoftheLYotherthananotherblanket
statementthatitiscompletelywrong.
IreadtheauthorsbloganditisagreatsourceofinformationformylearningaboutTaiwanesepolitics,butthis
article,whilstnodoubtrequiredalotofheartandefforttowrite,unfortunatelyfallsshortofbeingsatisfactoryin
providinganswers.
Reply(/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwanssunflowermovement/?
replytocom=655312#respond)Link
(http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2014/04/04/debunkingthemythsabouttaiwans
sunflowermovement/#comment655312)Quote(#)

J.MichaelColeApril5,2014at7:08pm
DearChiHsu:Pointtaken.Thisarticlewasalreadyabout2,000wordslong.Iindeedassumedacertain
amountofknowledgeaboutthecrisisanditsantecedentsonthepartofthereader.AsIhavewritten
extensivelyaboutthoseelsewhere,Ididntseetheneed,nordidIhavethespace,togointosuchdetails
again.
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