Fears over 'democracy and jobs'
Students angered by KMT's reversal on review of trade pact, which they fear will hurt economy
The students who took over Taiwan's legislature fear democracy on the island is at risk and the free trade pact with the mainland will lead to fewer jobs.
It's the island's first large student-led protest in the social media age, and a challenge they face is how to next co-ordinate their supporters while avoiding further violent clashes with police.
"We decided it was the time for us to take some action to counter such a shameless and rude trampling on Taiwan's democracy by the KMT legislators," said Chen Wei-ting, one of the several student leaders, who planned the protest, referring to the ruling Kuomintang party.
The protest, though it erupted suddenly on Tuesday, has been gathering pace for months. Almost immediately after the mainland and Taiwan signed the deal in June, doubts arose among young people, the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party and several civic groups that it would hurt the island's economy.
"Concerns about possible negative impact from the controversial cross-strait trade service pact and the breach of an agreement by the ruling Kuomintang over how to review the pact are the major reasons behind the latest students' wrath," said George Tsai Wei, a political science professor at Chinese Culture University in Taipei.
Pressure mounted for the island's president, Ma Ying-jeou, and his Kuomintang, to submit the pact to a careful scrutiny by the legislature. The KMT signed a letter with the DPP in September pledging an article by article review, but on Monday announced a U-turn.
Several civic groups staged a protest outside the legislature on Tuesday. About 200 students from various local universities broke into the chamber through three side doors around 9pm after briefly scuffling with police. They succeeded in occupying the chamber by stacking chairs and other pieces of furniture to block the entrances.