More than 2,000 people, including many dressed in traditional Aboriginal garb, marched through the streets of Taipei yesterday afternoon protesting the controversial Miramar Resort Village construction project on Taitung County’s Shanyuan Beach (杉原沙灘).
The parade, initiated by an alliance of more than 40 civic groups and Aboriginal tribes from across the nation, was held to protest the development project, which has been ruled invalid more than once by the Supreme Administrative Court, but still gained approval at a local environmental impact assessment meeting last year and is scheduled to go into operation this year.
The march was titled “Don’t say goodbye to the eastern coastline,” and the protesters expressed concern that the Miramar case would set an example for other development projects along the eastern coastline and cause irreversible damage to the environment.
Photo: Chien Jung- Fong, Taipei Times
The crowd in Taipei was joined by a group of people that had marched for 17 days from Taitung to Taipei.
At the head of the parade was an Amis bamboo raft with a banner that read “Return our domain to us,” carried by 20 men, to express their hope to live in harmony with nature.
The protesters said the hand-made raft represents the idea of taking “just enough” from nature instead of abusing and exhausting natural resources.
“Aborigines do not have a specific life philosophy, but they do feel strongly connected to the land,” Aboriginal folk singer Panai said. “Please feel our affection for the land. This is what residents in Taipei have lost.”
The parade marched through the streets of Taipei, singing an Aboriginal verse signifying waves and the ocean in response to the chanting of Aboriginal folk singer Nabu.
They shouted demands such as “tear down the Miramar, protect the eastern coastline,” “protect our homeland” and “we don’t want cement dumped on the beach.”
The protesters arrived at the Miramar Garden Taipei (美麗信花園酒店), a hotel owned by the same corporation as the Miramar Resort Village in Taitung, and the crowd waved silver grass, mimicking a ritual aimed at expelling evil spirits and purifying the heart.
Reaching Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, the protesters held hands and performed an Amis harvest festival dance.
The leader of the walking group, Lai Ching-lung (賴進龍), born in the Malan Tribe of Taitung, walked the whole journey to Taipei barefoot.
He said the journey had been exhausting, but while walking through the many tribes along the way, he felt the significance of bringing their message of protecting traditions and the environment to the Presidential Office.
“I hate that the government is treating us like this. It is using inappropriate measures to take our land and ocean from us.” Lai said, adding: “The coast is where the Amis used to collect food and live. Now we are concerned that the ocean will be polluted and destroyed by development projects.”
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS