Environmental

Protests Continue Against Zhiben Solar Farm on Katratripulr Land in August and September

Brian Hioe
Protests regarding the Zhiben photovoltaic farm took place again late last month, with demonstrations against a government survey of the land that the farm is planned to be built on. These protests were not widely reported on, however, probably due to the fact that they took place in Taitung. Protests that take place outside of Taipei sometimes fail to receive coverage, with much of the media industry based in Taipei, and because Taiwan is small enough that protesters can frequently travel to Taipei to protest even for local issues. This has not been helped by COVID-related stories still continuing to take up a large part of the news cycle...
EnglishEnvironmentalIndigenousRaceSeptember 2021Social Movements5 min read

Asia Cement Ruling Likely to Be Resisted by the Company, with the Backing of the Ministry of Economic Affairs

Brian Hioe
The Supreme Administrative Court ruled against extending the mining rights of Asia Cement’s mine on Truku Indigenous land on Thursday, dismissing an appeal filed by Asia Cement. The decision has been seen by some as a victory in the struggle against the mine. The Hualien city council had previously levied an ore tax of 70 NT per metric ton on the mine and rejected the extension. A lower court had previously also found Asia Cement’s actions to be in violation of the Indigenous Basic Law....
EnglishEnvironmentalIndigenousSeptember 2021Social Movements6 min read

Evictions Due to Railroad Development Project Leads to Clashes Between Protesters, Police in Mid-August

Brian Hioe
Police clashed with protesters in Tainan on August 20th and August 21st, as part of efforts by authorities to evict the last household resisting eviction as part of plans to construct the Tainan Urban District Railway Underground Project. A total of 340 households were displaced for the railway development project. While most households agreed to move, five households refused...
August 2021EnglishEnvironmentalSocial Movements5 min read

National Controversy Breaks Out After 154 Illegally Smuggled Cats Euthanized in Kaohsiung

Brian Hioe
A national controversy has broken out, following the euthanizing of 154 cats that were being smuggled into Taiwan on a fishing vessel. The cats, which included breeds such as American shorthair, British shorthair, Persian, Ragdoll, and Russian blue, were worth over 10 million NT. The cats were found in 62 cages on the vessel, which had a crew of five...
August 2021EnglishEnvironmentalSocial Movements7 min read

Clashes Break Out Between Protesters, Police Last Week Over Review of Shezidao Development Plans

Brian Hioe
Clashes broke out between residents of Shezidao, also known as Shezi Island, and police last week on Wednesday. These clashes took place in context of the Taipei city government’s second stage review environmental impact assessment conducted on the prospect of development on the island. This led to not only fighting with the police, but clashes between residents of Shezidao in favor of development and those opposed to it. This may be one of the first times that fighting has broken out during a protest during the current COVID-19 outbreak that Taiwan is currently in the late stages of...
August 2021EnglishEnvironmentalSocial Movements5 min read