Taiwan's so-called Sunflower Movement, named after a florists' gift to protesters, erupted in March 2014 when dozens of students stormed the parliament and occupied the chamber for three-and-a-half weeks.

The government had previously enraged the Taiwanese public with a decision to pass a cross-strait trade pact with Beijing without a clause-by-clause review. Protesters argued the deal would harm Taiwan's economy and provide China with more leverage over the island, which Beijing sees as a part of its territory.

Hundreds of thousands of people eventually took to the streets of Taipei to show solidarity with the students. Sunflowers became a symbol of hope. Faced with the pushback, the government halted the trade deal.

Today, Taiwanese Millennials and Gen Zers are still feeling the lingering effects of the mass civil disobedience that set off a wave of youth activism and pushed the island away from Beijing.

Lin Fei-fan, one of the student leaders who broke into the parliament in 2014, believes the movement was a watershed moment for Taiwanese people, allowing them to realize their power to influence government policies.

"I think originally that Taiwan's relations with China were usually........

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