The Power of Sunflower

This article examines the genesis of Taiwan’s 2014 Sunflower Movement and how it contributed to the decisive defeat of the Kuomintang (KMT) in the 2016 election. The KMT’s accommodating approach to Beijing since 2008 had deescalated cross-strait military tensions and facilitated closer economic ties. However, the so-called “peace dividend” was not evenly distributed but remained a privilege of the minority who enjoyed political connection. The Sunflower Movement’s support came from believers in democratic values and sovereignty, as well as those who expected future joblessness. The widespread perception of threatened democracy and economic victimization constituted the root causes of the Sunflower Movement, paving the way for the historical victory of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2016.