Taiwan's LegislativeYuan, the island’s parliament, is used to rambunctious drama. But the month long occupation of its main chamber, in Spring, 2014, 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 Taiwan 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 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.
In contrast, the students occupying the legislature, as well as opposition parties who back them, claim that the trade deal will lead to an all of the following outcomes, except _________.
A) Expanding trade relationships between Chinese and Taiwanese companies will slowly but surely divert production from Taiwanese factories and workers to cheaper mainland labor.
B) Growing exposure to the Beijing Consensus threaten Taiwanese freedoms in areas such as media and publishing.
C) Integration with larger, powerful nations will establish safeguards that sustain Taiwan’s political sovereignty.
D) The influx of Chinese businesses will inevitably overwhelm Taiwanese companies