Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
's Wild Lily student movement () or March student movement was a six-day student demonstration in 1990 for
democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
. The
sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
at Memorial Square in
Taipei
, nickname = The City of Azaleas
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(since rededicated as
Liberty Square in commemoration of the movement) was initiated by students from
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...
. Participation quickly grew to 22,000 demonstrators. The Wild Lily demonstrators sought direct elections of Taiwan's
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
and
vice president
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
and new popular elections for all representatives in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
.
The demonstration lasted from 16 to 22 March 1990, coinciding with the inauguration of
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui (; pinyin: ''Lǐ Dēnghuī''; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese politician and agricultural scientist who served as the fourth president of the Republic of China, president of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) unde ...
on 21 March 1990 to a six-year term as president. The election Lee won was one in which only 671 members of the National Assembly voted, only one party was recognized, and one candidate ran. This process had been characteristic of one-party rule under the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
and
Chiang Kai-shek.
Protesters wore white
Formosa lilies and created giant replicas of the flower as a symbol of democracy. Their adoption of the flower as an icon of freedom evoked a long native tradition.
Yang Yung-ming, a professor of political science at the
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...
, described to the ''
Taiwan Review
''Taiwan Review'' () is a general-interest English-language bi-monthly published by Kwang Hua Publishing, Inc. in Taiwan under the supervision of the Department of International Information Services, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its purpose is to i ...
'' in 2003:
For years, Taiwanese poets have employed this flower as a symbol of grace and resilience. The aboriginal poet Lin Yi-te, for example, often used it to symbolize the Taiwanese indigenous peoples' primitive purity of spirit, and used the flower's decline to dramatize the desolation and tragedy of their decline. It was Taiwanese literature's use of this wild lily 'Lilium formosanum''">Lilium_formosanum.html" ;"title="'Lilium formosanum">'Lilium formosanum''as a metaphor of simplicity and fortitude that inspired its use by those in the student democracy movement.
On the first day of his new term, Lee Teng-hui welcomed fifty students to the Presidential Building (Taiwan)">Presidential Building. He expressed his support of the students' goals and promised full
democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
in Taiwan beginning with reforms to be initiated that summer.
The Wild Lily student movement marked a crucial turning point in Taiwan's transition to pluralistic democracy. Six years later, Lee became Taiwan's first popularly elected leader, taking 54% of the vote in an election in which over 95% of eligible voters participated. Democracy supporters continue to gather at Liberty Square every 21 March to commemorate the event. Officials affiliated with the Taiwan Solidarity Union have advocated moving Taiwan's Youth Day to 21 March in recognition of the students' achievement.
On the eve of the fifteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, ill-fated student democracy protests in China's
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
, Lee's successor
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...
noted that the Wild Lily student movement had taken place only a year after the events in Beijing. He noted the contrast in the way the governments responded. "The most memorable impression of the Tiananmen incident of June 4th is that of that
small, thin person holding up a line of tanks, which was a heroic and disturbing impression," he said. "The March Student Movement, in pressing for the establishment of a national affairs conference, changing the way the
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...
and the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
are elected and a consensus on realizing the direct election of the president, also set a timetable for reform." The National Assembly voted to dissolve itself in 2005.
See also
*
Sunflower Student Movement
*
Wild Strawberries Movement
*
Taiwanization
Taiwanization ( zh, t=臺灣本土化運動), also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a conceptual term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a Taiwanese culture, society, economy, nationality, and identity rather than ...
*
1989 Tiananmen Square protests
The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led Demonstration (people), demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsucces ...
*
February 1990 power struggle
References
Citation
{{Reflist
Sources
'Taipei Spring? Anachronistic process, but Lee promises reforms.'''Taiwan Communique'', International Committee for Human Rights in Taiwan, April 1990. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
Jewel Huang. "TSU proposes changing date of Youth Day to March 21."''Taipei Times'', 22 March 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
Lin Chieh-Yu. "Chen says 'China won't trust its people.'"''Taiwan Headlines'', 4 June 2004. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
Abby Lee. "Botanists' labor of love revives Formosan lily population."''Taiwan Review'', 26 December 2003. Retrieved 7 September 2007. Video. Spoken commentary in Chinese and Taiwanese. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
Student protests in Taiwan
Nonviolent revolutions
Taiwan under Republic of China rule
20th century in Taipei
Politics of Taiwan
1990 in Taiwan
Taiwanese democracy movements
White Terror (Taiwan)
1990 protests