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Javier Negrete Jr

Dr. Wanda White


English 1102
March 24, 2014
All men and women are born with an innate sense of curiosity. Mankind desires to
explore the world in order to understand its functions. Impact occurs when curiosity and
passion overlap to make a difference in somebodys world. Over the past and current
century, the image of the university student has become iconic for the portrayal of reform.
Internationally, university students are known for their passion, patriotism and altruistic
behavior. To understand the importance of the university students involvement for reform
in a more critical and relative way, it is imperative to observe how their passion manifests
in their culture, how policy creates limits their mobility, how these students overcome
these limits.
The Chinese and the Taiwanese
The Chinese and Taiwanese students had a special case in their situation and it is
proposed that it was the result of an old Chinese tradition. China, in its late twentieth
century, was experiencing a student led movement to make China more democratic shortly
after the death of the beloved General Secretary Hu Yaobang on April 15
th
, 1989. The
students formed an alliance, marched for several weeks later, occupied Tianeman Square in
Beijing, and experienced an abrupt reaction from the Chinese military on June 4
th
with the
Tiananmen Square incident. Taiwan, in around the same time period, experienced a similar
case. The Taiwanese started by with a smaller number of followers, proposed a platform
that sought to re-elect the National Assembly, abolish the old constitution, present a better
political platform, and to prepare a National Affairs Conference to discuss political reform.
In observation of the events Teresa White (author of The Perils of Protest) explains that
the Chinese and the Taiwanese movements ended in completely different ways. The
Chinese movement died violently, and the Taiwanese movement ended voluntarily and
peacefully. The scholars who have analyzed and compared the Chinese and Taiwanese
problems at hand of the student protests in the 1980s and the 1990s propose that culture
was one of the factors that determine the fate of the unions. For example, in China, a state-
of-grace (elitism) is traditionally given to the scholars because they are said to be
enlightened. White explains that the Chinese movement was flawed because this cultural
detail was strongly incorporated. Those who were elites did not mingle with the social
details of the organization. In contrast to the Chinese movement, the Taiwanese performed
effectively because their union was based on friendship and harmony. Their patience and
reluctant, yet voluntary, decisions to step down left a better opportunity for change. The
point that needs to be made is that culture will affect any student led movement. At times, it
will determine how effective the movement will be.

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