Students occupying Taiwan government take to Reddit AMA
占領台灣政府機關的學生們在Reddit AMA上發聲 The Sunflower Movement of students occupying Taiwan's national assembly have explained their goals in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session. 占領台灣國會的太陽花學運在國外知名社群網站Reddit的"儘管問"活動中解釋了他們的抗爭目標。 Led by 25-year-old Lin Fei-Fan and 24-year-old Chen Wei-ting, protesters known as the Sunflower Movement survived early eviction attempts and have organised a peaceful occupation in the legislature building, complete with recycling bins and cameras broadcasting a live feed on Ustream. Taking to Reddit, protest leaders laid out their objections to the trade deal, balancing cost-benefit figures of local GDP against economic and social independence from China, and registering general dissatisfaction with the government. "You guys are so brave," says one Redditt user. "I'm a student and I couldn't even imagine overtaking a Taco Bell." Protestor Oliver Chen replies, "Ask most of us here a couple of months ago, and we would have probably said the same." "But one day you realize that if you aren't willing to stand up for your country now, there might never be another chance. That's a pretty sobering thought." 由25歲的林飛帆和24歲的陳為廷所領導,太陽花學運在先前遭政府嘗試驅離後,仍持續進行和平占領國會的行動。抗爭者還利用資源回收桶及照相機在Ustream(註1)上做現場直播。 學運領導者讓議題延燒至Reddit,在此社群上闡述了他們反對服貿的理由;權衡分析該協議對台灣GDP帶來的成本效益及與中國在經濟、社會上獨立造成的影響;並且表達人民對政府的普遍不滿。 “你們真的很勇敢,”一名Reddit使用者評論。“我也是一個學生,但我連占領塔可鐘(註2)都不敢想”。抗議學生陳瑞光回應,“如果在幾個月前,我們之中大部分的人可能也會說一樣的話。" “但有天你意識到,如果你現在不願為你的國家站出來,以後可能再也沒有機會了。這是非常值得深思的問題。“ 註:
本文僅供客觀參考,並不代表本站立場 本文節錄自CNET 文章連結 - http://www.cnet.com/news/students-occupying-taiwan-government-take-to-reddit-ama/ Protests Won’t Undermine Taiwan’s Reputation 抗議並不會損害台灣國際聲譽 Claims that the Sunflower Movement will hurt Taiwan’s ability to join regional trade pacts are misguided. 宣稱太陽花運動將妨害台灣加入區域貿易協定純為誤導 In fact, states do often renegotiate treaties and usually there is a mechanism for such a procedure embedded in the treaty. The consequences are rarely as grave as is now being claimed. Ireland did not became an international outcast when it failed to approve the Lisbon treaty in a 2008 referendum and the Nice treaty in a 2001 referendum. In both cases, negotiations were opened again, changes were made and both treaties eventually entered into force. In addition, the argument can be made that other democracies do understand the complexity of the ratification process, especially when it comes to free trade (or free trade-like) agreements. It is also likely that other governments would recognize that agreements with China are different than Taiwan’s dealings with other governments. The United States would hardly stop promoting Taiwan’s Trans-Pacific Partnership membership just because Taipei failed to ratify the CSSTA with China, nor would the failure to ratify the treaty deter Japan from entering into negotiations with Taiwan. In other words, Taiwan’s deals with China are not a reliable benchmark for measuring Taiwan’s reputation. It is hard to think that Taiwan’s partners are not aware of this. Naturally, Beijing would hardly be pleased if CSSTA were ratified with some major changes. Likewise, it is certainly not pleased by the emergence of a civic movement that crosses party lines and aspires to hold the government accountable. This is especially true because Taiwan’s movement appears to be seen as a model in the increasingly restive Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which Beijing is already struggling to control. If (and only if) the Sunflower Movement succeeds in pushing CSSTA back to the negotiation table, Beijing will face a certain dilemma: if it appears to retaliate, it will only confirm that protesters were right to suspect sinister intentions. Moreover, any future arrangement between Taipei and Beijing will be under very close public scrutiny. Maybe it is, after all, a better option for Ma (and Beijing) to appease public opposition and return to the negotiation table. 事實上,國家之間針對條約重新談判的情形經常發生,且條約中通常含有相關機制規範此程序。所造成的後果也很少如其現在宣稱的如此嚴重。愛爾蘭於2001年的及2008年的公民投票中依序否決了尼斯條約、里斯本條約(註1、2)的簽署,均未因此遭受國際間的排擠。在這兩起案例中,談判皆重新展開,條款重新修訂,兩條約最終仍合法生效。 此外,該說法還有另一項爭議。其他民主國家應能了解條約批准過程的複雜性,尤其當牽涉到簽署自由貿易協定(或類似)。其他國家政府也很可能辨別得出,台灣與中國的協議和他們之間的並不相同;美國不會僅僅因為台灣未能批准兩岸服務貿易協議,便放棄支持台灣加入跨太平洋夥伴協定(TPP),日本亦不會因此停止對台協商。換言之,台灣和中國的協議對於台灣的信譽並不是可靠的衡量標準,很難想像台灣的邦交國不會意識到這點。 當然,若服貿經部分重大修正而後批准,北京當局不可能為此感到高興。同樣地,對於一項民間運動的出現,跨越了黨派界限,並渴望向政府追究責任,其亦肯定大感不悅。特別是在台灣學運似乎被日益動盪的香港特別行政區視為民主典範,而北京對香港已努力加強掌控之時。如果(且唯有)太陽花學運成功將服貿推回談判桌,北京將必然面臨進退兩難的困境:若採取報復手段,只會證實抗爭者懷疑其圖謀不軌是正確的。並且,未來兩岸之間任何協議都將接受民眾嚴密的審查。也許對於馬總統(或北京當局)而言,較佳選擇仍舊是安撫大眾的反彈並返回談判桌。 註:
本文節錄自日本《The Diplomat 外交官》雜誌 (報導亞太區域趨勢前線的國際時事) 文章連結 - http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/protests-wont-undermine-taiwans-reputation/ Manning the trade barriers 操控著貿易障礙 Students occupy Taiwan’s legislature in protest against a free-trade pact with China 學生占據台灣立法機構抗議與中國簽署自由貿易協議 TAIWAN’S Legislative Yuan, the island’s parliament, is used to rumbustious scenes. But the occupation since March 18th of its main chamber by protesting students is unprecedented in the country’s nearly two decades of full democracy. The demonstrators, whose actions took many by surprise, want the government to scrap an agreement with China that would allow freer trade in services across the Taiwan Strait. They have displayed a large cartoon of President Ma Ying-jeou in the debating hall, portraying him as a Chinese pawn. The president is at the nadir of his popularity, while China struggles to win over public opinion in Taiwan. Signs of public sympathy with the students are growing. The past few months have been particularly tough for Mr Ma, now nearly halfway through his second and final four-year term as president. In September he tried to expel a political rival in the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), Wang Jin-pyng, the legislature’s speaker, for alleged influence-peddling. But the move only served to highlight disunity within his party. On March 19th, a day after the students stormed into the legislature, a court in Taipei ruled in Mr Wang’s favour, allowing him to keep his party membership and thus his job. It was another embarrassment for the president, whom critics attempt to portray as an aloof patrician with an autocratic streak. The agreement his government reached with China last June on removing barriers to cross-strait trade in services such as banking, e-commerce and health care is at the heart of many of Mr Ma’s image problems. Mr Ma sees the pact as a reward for the more conciliatory approach to China that he has adopted since he became president. The students occupying the legislature, as well as opposition parties who back them, claim that the trade deal will lead to an influx of Chinese businesses that will overwhelm Taiwanese competitors, threaten basic freedoms in areas such as publishing, and employ cheap mainland labour rather than Taiwanese. They accuse Mr Ma’s government of being overly secretive in negotiating its terms. Three days after the students began their occupation, Mr Ma argued that failure by the legislature to approve the agreement “could have serious consequences” (see Banyan). Going back on the deal, he said, could result in Taiwan being “regarded as an unreliable trade partner” by China as well other countries with which the island wants to negotiate free-trade pacts. He denied the agreement would open Taiwan’s job market to Chinese workers and said the government would reimpose barriers if national security were ever at risk. These arguments appear to convince neither the students nor many members of the public. Thousands have shown support for the occupation by rallying outside the building. A poll conducted on March 20th-21st by TVBS, a broadcaster often regarded as sympathetic to the KMT, found that nearly half of respondents supported the students’ action and opposed the trade pact. Only a fifth were in favour of the deal. On March 23rd hundreds of students broke into the Taipei compound of the central government, and some used ladders to enter the offices. Police evicted them a few hours later using water cannon and batons in an operation that left dozens injured. Another TVBS poll found much less public support for this action by the students, though support for the continuing occupation of parliament remained high. In parts of Asia students are seen to embody a country’s moral conscience. Mr Ma is careful not to condemn them outright. China, meanwhile, tries to sound unperturbed by the commotion in Taipei. Global Times, a Beijing newspaper, called the student action a “typical piece of theatre”. Mr Ma, however, acknowledges that the problem is bigger. “Domestically,“ he says, “we have not yet reached a significant consensus on how we want to develop our relations with mainland China.” After six years of trying, Mr Ma can claim too little progress on this. 台灣的立法院,這個島國的議會,對於喧鬧場面早已司空見慣。但在這個國家近二十年來的完全民主統治下,其大廳自3月18日遭抗議學生占領卻是史無前例的。這些行動令人意外的抗議民眾,希望政府取消與中國簽署海峽兩岸服務貿易自由化的協議。他們在立法院議廳展示了總統馬英九的大型卡通人像,影射他是中國的棋子。馬總統的支持度已跌到最低點,而中國方面則正在努力爭取贏得台灣民意。越來越多跡象顯示出大眾對學生的同情。 過去幾個月對馬總統先生而言處境特別艱難,他的第二次連任,也是最後一次四年一任的總統生涯,如今已將近走完了一半。去年9月,他試圖開除在(執政黨)國民黨中的政治競爭對手,被控涉及司法關說的立法院長王金平,但此舉只是凸顯出黨內的不合。3月19日,也就是學生們衝進立院一天後,台北地方法院做出對王有利的判決,讓他得以保留黨籍,也因此保住他的職位。這對馬總統而言又是另一個難堪的局面,批評者將他描繪成一位帶著專制色彩的孤傲貴族。 這項與中國在去年六月簽訂的協議,將解除海峽兩岸之間諸如銀行、電子商務和健保等服務業的貿易壁壘,是馬總統許多形象問題的重要關鍵。馬總統視該協議為中國給予的獎勵,因為自從他上任後對中國改以更為溫和的外交方式。占領立法院的學生們和支持他們的反對黨,聲稱此貿易協議將導致中國企業大量湧入,壓垮台灣競爭者;威脅人民各方面的基本自由,譬如出版;以及僱用大陸廉價勞力,取代台灣員工。他們指責馬政府對於協議的談判過程並未透明公開。 在學生的占領行動持續三天後,馬先生表示立法院若未批准該協議“可能造成嚴重後果”。背棄這項協議,他說,可能會導致中國或其他我國希望與其簽訂自由貿易協定的國家,將台灣"視為不可信賴的貿易夥伴”。他否認該協議將開放台灣就業市場給中國勞工,並表示如有任何影響國家安全之情事,政府將恢復實行貿易壁壘。 這些論點似乎既無說服學生也沒說服多少民眾,數千人在立法院外集會表示對占領行動的支持。由常被視為偏藍的TVBS於3月20日至21日進行的一項民意調查顯示,近一半的受訪者支持學生的行動並反對服貿,只有五分之一贊成這項協議。 3月23日數百名學生闖進了台北的中央政府機關(行政院),其中一些人利用梯子闖入辦公室。警方在幾個小時後使用強力水柱和警棍將他們驅逐,造成數十人受傷。另一項TVBS民調發現,民眾對於學生這次的行動較不贊成,但對持續占領立法院的支持度仍高居不下。 部分亞洲地區的學生被視為國家道德良知的體現,馬總統也很謹慎,並未直接譴責他們。 與此同時,中國大陸試圖對台北的騷動表現得泰然自若。北京的一家報社《環球時報》,稱這場學運為“典型的戲劇表演”。然而,馬總統承認事態可能更為嚴重。“在國內,”他說,“對於兩岸關係如何發展我們尚未達成顯著共識。”經過六年的努力,馬總統確實可以宣稱進展甚微。
文章連結 - http://goo.gl/bu2qC5 Taiwan’s “Occupy” Movement Teeters between Peace and Violence 台灣的"占領運動"擺盪於和平與暴力之間 By Sandra Upson In the biggest student-led protest in Taiwan’s history, an estimated 10,000 people have surrounded government buildings in Taipei in opposition to an impending trade deal with mainland China. The movement began spontaneously, when hundreds of protestors seized control of Taiwan’s main legislative building last Tuesday night. On Sunday evening the clashes escalated, with several dozen people injured in skirmishes between police and activists who had stormed the Executive Yuan, which houses the Cabinet. Yet when I visited the protests on Saturday, I was struck by the extraordinary civility and peacefulness on display. The students, professors and other supporters sat in neat rows in the streets flanking the occupied legislative building. Many attendees carried sunflowers, a salute to the event’s nickname, the Sunflower Movement. Protesters here are objecting to a move by Taiwan’s leading party to skip an itemized review of the trade agreement, as had been promised. The new pact would open up Taiwan’s service sector to Chinese investment, raising fears that the mainland will increase its leverage over the island. Businesses in the service sector make up almost 70 percent of Taiwan’s economy. Some protesters oppose the pact entirely, whereas others object to the way the government is pushing it forward without a public review. The deal comes on the heels of a half-decade of warming relations between the Taiwanese government and mainland China. Only in 2008 did Taiwan begin to allow direct travel, trade and postal connections with China. Previously, all such links were routed through a third party, often Hong Kong. To get just a taste of Taiwan’s historically fierce protection of its sovereignty from China, consider that it only permits ten mainland films to be released in the island per year, a quota applied exclusively to its neighbor across the strait. This trade agreement will likely increase that figure. On Saturday, the thousands upon thousands of young Taiwanese people sitting in the streets were quiet and friendly. Volunteers amiably but firmly kept walkways clear around the site. Upon exiting a port-a-potty, you could expect to find a volunteer offering to pour bottled water over your hands. Nearby businesses offered free snacks. Protesters who had entered the legislative building were sitting on its roof and peering out its windows. Police maintained a very low profile—the most visible presence was at the Executive Yuan, around the corner, where several tiers of barbed wire stood between the police and pedestrians. Thorny fencing also guarded parts of the legislative building, but to less effect. Here, protestors had wrapped cushioning around the sharp edges and tucked sunflowers between its wires. 在這場臺灣史上規模最大、由學生帶領的抗議活動,將近一萬人在臺北包圍了政府機構,為的是反對即將和中國大陸簽署的貿易協議。這次的抗議活動是自發性的,事件始於上星期二晚間,數百名抗議群眾攻占臺灣的中央立法機關。星期日晚上抗議情勢升溫,警方和突襲行政院(內閣)的抗議人民數度爆發肢體衝突,造成數十人受傷。 然而當我星期六來到抗議現場時,民眾的文明舉止以及在場的平和氛圍令我為之震撼。這些學生、教授和其他支持者一排排整齊的靜坐在立法院的兩側街道上。其中許多參加者帶著太陽花,象徵對這場"太陽花學運"的致敬。 抗議的起因為台灣執政黨並未依照先前承諾,直接跳過對此貿易協議逐條審查的程序。這項協議將開放大陸投資台灣的服務業,引起民間的恐慌,深怕此舉會提高大陸對台灣的影響力,因為服務業幾乎佔台灣GDP(國內生產毛額)70%左右(註1)。部分抗議人士堅決反對此協議,有些人則是反對政府黑箱作業強行通過的方式。 大約五年前兩岸關係較為溫和後該協議即達成(註2),但直到2008年台灣才開放和中國大陸在旅遊、貿易、郵政上的直接往來。在這之前,所有這些相關交流皆須透過第三方管道協助,通常由香港媒合。如欲明白台灣多年來捍衛其國家主權至何程度,從其每年只允許十部大陸電影在台發行便可略知一二。這樣的額度是位於對岸的鄰國所獨享的,若此貿易協定通過則有提高的可能。 星期六那天,數以萬計在街頭席地而坐的台灣青年是平靜而友善的。志願者親切而堅定地維護抗議現場附近人行道的暢通,甚至當你由流動廁所走出時,他們會用瓶裝水幫你洗手。附近還有商家免費提供小吃。 進入立法院的抗爭者有些人坐在屋頂上,有些窺視著窗外。警方行事仍保持低調-唯一顯眼的只有在行政院附近,將行人和警力層層隔開的鐵絲網。立法院周邊也有部分架設拒馬,但效果不彰。抗議民眾將其尖銳部分包裹住,並在鐵絲網點綴上太陽花。 註:
文章連結 http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2014/03/24/taiwans-occupy-movement-teeters-between-peace-and-violence/ |
傳臉書訊息給我CATEGORIES
|
lanceolate | |
Definition: | Tapering from a rounded base toward an apex. |
Synonyms: | lancelike |
Word of the Day
provided by TheFreeDictionary
Quote of the Day
I believe that if one always looked at the skies, one would end up with wings.
Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) |
Quote of the Day
provided by The Free Library
Archives
過去文章
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
March 2016
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014