Scores of Taiwanese took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday in solidarity with an estimated 500,000 demonstrators, mostly students, in Taipei who are opposing a trade pact with the mainland.

Although the demonstration was peaceful in general, Taiwan felt more like Thailand and Ukraine.

The trade pact between the mainland and Taiwan will surely benefit Taiwan, which even the opposition Democratic Progressive Party would have acknowledged.

The tragic element of this movement lies in that the Taiwan students are so vehement in objecting to the pact, which is like a poetic exaggeration.

The students, supposed to have a sense of justice, are calling for democracy, but what they have done is more like fooling around if judged by the standard of democracy and the rule of law. It seems that democracy in Taiwan is still transitional, experiencing its ups and downs.

The economy in Taiwan has been stagnant for a long time. South Korea used to fall behind Taiwan but now has far exceeded it. The fundamental reason is that Taiwan didn't dare open up cooperation with the mainland, while South Korea didn't have such concerns. Taiwan students and their supporters failed to face up to this malaise but instead carped on about the trade pact to vent their confusion toward the future of Taiwan.

In a society where democracy has not matured, people will bring politics to account once the economy goes wrong, which may easily make society fall into a vicious circle. There's no exception in the Middle East, Ukraine or Thailand. Now Taiwan has begun such a trend.

The current Taiwan society seems to have lost its goal and faces multiple challenges. Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou has stressed an approach of "no unification, no independence and no use of force," which is just a compromised mediocrity.

Competition in the economy and overall strength is ubiquitous around the globe, while ideology is a cover for regional and global competition. If one prioritizes politics when doing business with another, one is fooling around.

If closer ties between Taiwan and the mainland means Taiwan is being "annexed," then Taiwan is sure to sink in even if there is no trade pact with the mainland. If an economy is doomed to fail when doing business with others, then there's nothing we can expect from it.

The mainland does not want to face an arrogant and provocative Taiwan, nor does it want to see Taiwan in a state of extreme nervousness when dealing with its mainland partners. We want to see a Taiwan with certainty, rationality and confidence. The cross-Straits competition should achieve a win-win situation that convinces both sides.