A Pact With China Causes Political Turmoil in Taiwan

An agreement between China and Taiwan to expand trade and bilateral investment in the countries' services industries is at the center of a political showdown between the administration of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, opposition Democratic Progressive Party legislators and a group of mostly college-age protesters who forcefully occupied Taiwan's Legislative Yuan starting March 18. The political and legislative struggle exposes multiple crosscurrents in contemporary Taiwanese politics and geopolitics.