While the protest may have started as a peaceful way for students to voice their opinions and oppose the free trade agreement between China and Taiwan, the recent Taiwanese police attempts to put an end to the rebellion have started to shift this rebellion from peaceful to violent, as students have reportedly been injured and arrested due to the protests, causing more unrest and further fueling the fire for these protests to continue.
Another negative outcome that this protest may have, according to analysts, is worsened relations between China and Taiwan, with relations that were already very unstable to begin with. These unstable relations, according to outside analysts, were one of the main reasons Beijing reached out to Taiwan with this trade agreement in the first place, as an attempt to engage Taiwan and bolster communication between the two long opposing nations. As is clearly evidenced by these protests, however, this trade agreement may have had the exact opposite effect.
While it is yet unclear exactly how the Taiwanese government will continue to handle these protests, if what has occurred so far is any indication, these worsened cross-strait relations, as well as a schism between the Taiwanese public and the Taiwanese government could be a very real outcome.
-Zach
occupytaiwan 