Island’s Sunrise

Island’s Sunrise (島嶼天光), written by independent rock band Fire EX (滅火器), rapidly became the “theme” of the movement after it debuted on March 27th within the Legislative Yuan. Island’s Sunrise was released to the public on March 28th and an MV was released to coincide with the large-scale protest on March 30th, 2014. The song was written over the course of 2 days by Fire EX members, with assistance from Taiwanese performance artist and electronic producer Betty Apple (鄭宜蘋), then a student at National Taipei University of Fine Arts (國立臺北藝術大學), and other students from the National Taipei University of Fine Arts. The song was soon translated into English and later translated into English for a choral version.

The song catapulted Fire EX to superstardom, leading their performance festival “Fire Day” to become a popular gathering for Taiwanese activists. Following Tsai Ing-Wen’s victorious presidential campaign in 2016 presidential elections, Fire EX performed the song at her inauguration, a means by which the Tsai campaign attempted to claim its victory as the legacy of the Sunflower Movement.

Read Next:

• Read about activist bands

• Read an interview with Betty Apple

• See pictures from Fire EX’s performance of Island’s Sunrise in the Legislative Yuan

• Listen to the original MV for Island’s Sunrise featuring footage from the movement

• Listen to version of the Island’s Sunrise MV featuring footage from the movement as well as animation

• Listen to the English version of Island’s Sunrise released after the withdrawal from the Legislative Yuan

Photo credit: Still from Island’s Sunrise MV/Fire EX 滅火器