The "Occupy (the Legislative/Executive) Yuan" movement in Taiwan, backed by the opposition "green camp", can be described as "having the right to voice its desires but by illegal means". No matter how one looks at them, "Occupy" campaigns cannot be a good thing wherever they happen. Such campaigns hurt society and the interests of their participants as well - in this case, students in Taiwan. For example, a student who took part in the "Occupy" campaign in Taipei was quoted in the local press as saying he and many fellow "occupiers" argued with their family members over the illegal movement. It is also hard to call such involvement - at the expense of one's education - worthwhile.

The Legislative Yuan is a very important part of Taiwan's political structure. It is impossible to justify the occupation of this institution for any reason. Therefore, it is wrong to resort to illegal means such as "Occupy" campaigns even if the participants still have the right to voice their demands. By resorting to illegal means they have ruined whatever excuses they might have had originally. They should seriously rethink their actions.

The more radical participants in the "Occupy" campaign in Taiwan behave very much like their counterparts in Hong Kong. They feel that occupying the Legislative Yuan was not enough and so decided to break into the Executive Yuan as well. What they did there was caught on TV cameras and broadcast around the world. Hong Kong residents witnessed the outrageous trashing of government headquarters in Taiwan, including disrespecting the personal belongings of public servants. Jiang Yi-huah, head of the Executive Yuan, ordered Taipei police to immediately remove the mob. Up to 119 policemen were injured by rioters while 55 protesters were hurt and 61 arrested. The number of injured people suggests the protesters were more violent towards police than police were to them.

In contrast to Jiang's tough stance, Wang Jin-pyng, president of the Legislative Yuan, has been extremely tolerant of the "occupiers". Jiang was obviously committed to upholding the rule of law. But Wang adopted an approach which he described as "harmony outweighing everything else". Many people suspect he was indulging the unruly protesters (Some of whom were probably not students - although even students are not above the law). There is no reason to tolerate such illegal behavior.

In Hong Kong, if the "Occupy Central" movement is launched and damages private as well as public property, the authorities should respond like Jiang instead of following Wang's example.

The "Occupy" campaign launched by students in Taiwan was supposedly aimed at blocking a trade services agreement with the mainland. The "occupiers" claimed they were protecting Taiwan's interests. In fact, there is no indication they really knew the details of the agreement. This left them in the embarrassing position of blindly participating in an unjustified protest. This is why the "occupiers" have since split into a "moderate" and a "radical" camp, while others have left the "occupying" crowd in the Legislative Yuan.

To be fair, most observers and many Taiwan-based businesses agree the service agreement will benefit Taiwan more than the mainland. This again shows the mainland's "concessional" attitude toward Taiwan. It also suggests the students occupying the Legislative Yuan were been hoodwinked by people with ulterior motives (who else but those from the "green camp").

Also, the top three leaders of the Democratic Progressive Party showed up to support the "Occupy" movement outside the Legislative Yuan.

After the "Occupy" campaign began in Taiwan, "Occupy Central" advocates in Hong Kong and their media allies lost little time saying "What is happening in Taiwan today will happen in Hong Kong someday." But there is no way they will succeed. This is because the majority of Hong Kong people oppose the "Occupy Central" campaign. They will stand behind the SAR government to protect their shared interests.

The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 03/31/2014 page1)