Taiwan high court upholds acquittal of ‘Sunflower’ activists
Taipei, (MILLAT ONLINE):Taiwan’s high court on Tuesday upheld the acquittal of anti-China activists who occupied the island’s parliament in 2014, with the judge describing the protests as “an expression of democracy”.
Jubilant activists praised the decision which they said was a defence of democratic freedoms at a time when Beijing is ramping up pressure on the self-ruling island.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory and is pushing for reunification, with Beijing signalling a harder line towards what it regards as a renegade province.
Thousands of people took to the streets in protest in March 2014 in what became known as the Sunflower Movement, with 200 people occupying the main chamber of parliament for three weeks.
The rallies were triggered by a proposed cross-strait trade pact that critics said had been made in secret and would leave export-reliant Taiwan vulnerable to Chinese influence.
“The defendants did not initiate attacks or cause bloody conflicts and it was an expression of democracy,” judge Chang Huei-li told the court as she upheld last year’s acquittal by a lower court.
She said protesters were reacting to flaws in the legislative process and the failure of lawmakers to reflect public opinion.