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A fire hydrant leans in the trench caused by the explosion

TAIWAN—It started in 1990. Some may say it was in 1949 when the Chinese Nationalists retreated to Taiwan and imposed their tyranny and the governmental system that Chinese Communists would soon copy in Beijing. But this started in 1990 when CPC (中石化) built a gas line in Kaohsiung.

Gas lines can rust if not buried in the ground properly. CPC properly buried the line. But in 1991, the City of Kaohsiung put in a sewer passage that left the pipeline exposed, against building code. The city’s plans for the sewer complied with the code. But the construction company did not build according to the code—and the City of Kaohsiung approved the construction that was not to code and went against their own plans. Thirteen years later, on August 1, 2014, the line, rusted from exposure, exploded, destroying six kilometers of roadway, injuring over 300 and killing at least 30.  · · · →

This directly contradicts the need for police action against such protests in the past, as has been seen countless times through history. This indicates that police who use force against such demonstrators may be the actual culprits. Should violence eventually break out between police and peaceful protesters with these talking points, the police may be eventually understood to have incited said violence.

According to a trend of reports from US law enforcement such as from Rawls on March 30, 2011 8:28 PM, reports from State police such as Missouri highway patrol in March, 2009, law enforcement “training” is being influenced by publications such as an unclassified report “Rightwing Extremism” from April 7, 2009, from the Department of Homeland Security, with a recurring list of similarities that allegedly identify “domestic terrorists”.  · · · →

As the Sunflower Movement stated upon leaving Taiwan‘s legislative chamber, they would return. The movement never had “tunnel vision”, but was focused on a long list of grievances. The secret “black box” trade negotiation between China and US Military ally Taiwan was only the one straw on the camel’s back.

In this recent round of government v peaceful assembly, the topic is the island’s controversial fourth nuclear power plant. Especially after Fukushima in 2011, the earthquake-plagued people of Taiwan want nothing to do with nuclear energy. So it seems, the government doesn’t care.

Nuclear power objections in Taiwan have been rising and were frequently address during the three weeks that the legislature was occupied. Much of the street art protested nuclear power. Shortly after the students left the chamber, Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) began an “indefinite” hunger strike over the nuclear issue. A crowd quickly surrounded him, attracting many of the peaceful demonstrators from the trade agreement protests.  · · · →