If US President George W. Bush or one of the two presidential candidates, senators John McCain and Barack Obama, suddenly had the bizarre idea to build a freeway straight through Yellowstone National Park, most Americans would probably be upset and might even decide not to vote in the presidential election, as this would no longer be a matter for the residents of Wyoming alone. Yellowstone National Park is a great cultural asset that belongs to all Americans, if not the entire world. It is the pride of Americans in the same way as Taroko Gorge National Park is the pride of Taiwanese.
No one will — nor should they — deny that the residents of Hualien have the right to a safe road to and from their home town. However, as the Suhua Freeway (蘇花高) would pass through the Taroko Gorge National Park and 16 other sensitive regions and ecological conservation areas, the matter is no longer an issue for residents of Hualien alone, but rather something that concerns every Taiwanese.
In particular, the 921 Earthquake of Sept. 21, 1999, not only took many lives, it also caused a big shift in the tectonic plate under central Taiwan. Despite this, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications — the agency in charge of developing the freeway — submitted its report on the environmental impact of the freeway to the Environmental Protection Administration within two weeks of the earthquake.
The only explanation for this rush was that the ministry wanted to announce the construction of the freeway ahead of the presidential election in February 2000.
It defies the imagination that such a major development project would be passed after only a few task group meetings over a three-month period were held. Furthermore, the issue that should have been given the most attention — whether the 921 Earthquake caused a tectonic shift under the Hualien-Taitung region — was completely ignored. To this day, the ministry has yet to provide a scientific report on the situation.
The reason behind the constant dispute over the construction of the freeway is that the decision-making process has been flawed ever since the initial development policy was formed. The government has also failed to understand the need to explain to the public what risks the project might entail in terms of environmental protection and human security in the wake of the earthquake.
A very good example of the importance of having a sound communication strategy has been provided by the political crisis that erupted in South Korea as a result of President Lee Myung-bak’s inability to clearly explain his policy on US beef imports.
Winston Dang is a former Environmental Protection Administration minister.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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