wfn.org | Taiwan Aborigines Protest Watershed Expansion Plan

["pctpress" <pctpress@ms1.hinet.net>]

Taiwan Church News 2731, 28 June-4 July 2004
Reported by Yang Shu-hao. Translated and Rewritten by David Alexander

TheWater Resources Agency of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has set
September as the month to open work on expanding the watershed area for the
Tzengwen Reservoir in southern Taiwan. Aboriginal groups are seriously
unhappy. Clergy from Presbyterian churches in Kaohsiung County areas to be
affected by the project registered their complaints at the bureau a few days
ago. Rev Chen Hsin-liang, vice-moderator of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT), called for the government to first
understand the importance of land protection and the land rights of Taiwan's
Aboriginal peoples and only thereafter to proceed with due regard to reason
and respect. Such an approach might lead to victory for both sides in the
dispute.

The Rev. Mr. Chiang, (Yen You-li), moderator of the PCT's South Bunun
Presbytery (an association of 18 congregations) said, "The plan to use water
from Lao-long Stream has been on the books for four years, and the local
water
resources bureau has held eight public hearings in that time. Residents of
the
area have attended the meetings to make our opinions clearly known and have
sent reports to the central government water resources authorities. We have
also communicated through our parliamentary representatives. All this has
produced a plan without consideration of residents' rights or the
environmental impact of the scheme."

"Years of discussion are fruitless when it comes to getting governmental
attention. Aborigines have no alternative but to take to the streets."
According to Mr. Chiang, 90% of the Aboriginal residents in the area do not
want the project. They expect a positive response from the government.
Continued government strong-arming will result in generalized Aboriginal
protest.

The Rev. Mr. Lituan, pastor of Haising Presbyterian Church in the village of
Kao-chung, is the secretary of the Alliance to Resist the Watershed Expansion
Project. He says, "Christian faith teaches us to protect ecological long-term
development. If the government, for the sake of a temporary economic measure,
forcibly seizes land that has been held by Aborigines for thousands of years
in its natural state, this is not good for Taiwan." He adds, "Humanity and
nature must exist in a relationship of respect, living and letting live. The
projected action is a crime against nature and will lead to crisis for coming
generations."

Rev. Chen Hsin-liang believes that though the Aborigines might not be high on
the government's priority list, nonetheless the responsible authorities must
first understand the vital relationship between Aboriginal cultural life and
the land.  The more the executive branch's department of Aboriginal affairs
understands this relationship, the more it will protect the areas left to
today's people by yesterday's ancestors.

He asserts that the matter cannot be solved by the rather coarse manner of
offering payoffs or subsidies (as was done in the past). He calls for
government agents to think of the situation from an Aboriginal point of view.
The watershed expansion scheme will take away a large amount of land. How are
the residents to make a living thereafter? It is a question of basic
existence, not of 'quality of life.' The government must face this problem
squarely.

The head of the government's department of water resources is also a
Presbyterian. He is Elder Chen Shen-shyan, a member of Kong-koan Presbyterian
Church in Miao-li County. He said that past reports received in Taipei
indicated no opposition to the plan from the Aboriginal groups in the area to
be affected. They also indicated approval of the government's plans for
compensation.  It was never imagined that four years after the initial plan
was set out the Aborigines would take to the streets.

Elder Chen explained, "The plan has been approved by environmental
authorities
and has been put into action by the executive branch. The future expansion of
the Tzengwen Reservoir Watershed Area includes work in Kaohsiung County's
Tao-yuan Township to block a river. This will be done with consideration to
environmentally sensitive construction methods and make the blocked river
into
a tourism area, which will have little impact on the local environment.

Mr. Chen wears two hats. He is a civil servant bearing responsibility towards
the residents and must respond to legislative direction. That imposes a duty
upon him to understand the situation deeply. At the same time he is a member
of the PCT. In that role he will visit the area for the next two weeks to
learn how best to respond to the Aborigines' needs.

For More Information: South Bunun Presbytery vilian.bunun@msa.hinet.net
		   Lituan TEL +886 7 6882033
		   Water Resources Agency  e-service@wracb.gov.tw
Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.
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