The protestors who are occupying the legislature have announced their demands.
Hundreds of protestors, mostly students, took over the legislative chamber on Tuesday night. They called on the legislature to undertake a clause-by-clause review of a controversial trade in services pact with China. Just a day before students took action, lawmakers from the ruling Kuomintang passed an initial review of the agreement, going back on a promise to undertake a clause-by-clause review. The ruling party holds a majority in the legislature.
The agreement with China was signed last June. While supporters say that the agreement will further liberalize Taiwan's economy, critics say that it will annihilate the country's service industry and open up Taiwan to a hostile regime.
On Thursday the students held a press conference inside the legislative chamber and issued three demands. They asked the president of the legislature to declare the initial review invalid. They called for an open dialogue and negotiation with President Ma Ying-jeou. They also demanded that the legislature pass a law during this legislative session that will monitor agreements with China.
One protest leader, Chen Wei-ting, said that the protestors' actions have received support from many universities and scholars.
"We know that many buses are coming to Taipei from Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Taitung [to support us]," said Chen. "We also have scores of university lecturers [on our side]. The next step is student strikes, which will bring more students to the streets," he said.
In response, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said the government has held more than 100 meetings over the past nine months to communicate with businesses. He also said the accusation that the agreement was an under-the-table deal is unfounded. The premier said under the agreement, China is opening up more sectors to Taiwan than the other way around. He said the agreement will create more job opportunities and the government will continue to push for its approval.