Lai made the remarks at the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday, party spokeswoman Han Ying (韓瑩) said after the meeting. The Sunflower movement, which began on March 18, 2014, and the courage of the students and civil society stopped Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers from rushing the approval of a cross-strait trade agreement, forcing a national conversation on Taiwan’s economic trajectory, Lai said. National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), a prominent leader of the Sunflower movement, in a social media post thanked the people who participated in the movement, saying it helped to reshape Taiwan’s economic and international trajectory. This diversification has helped sustain Taiwan’s economic growth and mitigate the impact of China’s economic slowdown, Lin said. Despite ongoing domestic political divisions and external pressure from China, Taiwan should remain proactive and confident in its ability to contribute to the international community, an approach supported by the DPP and Lai, he added.

Source: Taipei Times March 18, 2026 17:12 UTC