A recent media circus focused on what was called a "big event" of coral spawning off the coast of Kenting (
I grew up playing on the beach in Hengchun
"Sightseeing" can be reworded as "seeing sights." Industrialized society, with its artificial and materialistic environment, has alienated and twisted the soul of the laboring majority (
Nature is no longer part of human existence, it is simply another nostalgia item. Nature parks have been created for the sake of nostalgia, to "purify" the alienated minds of laborers, who, on weekend getaways can be recharged with the energy needed to start working again.
The most simple and inexpensive form of "spiritual cleansing" is to view nature, to sightsee. Unfortunately, as a former resident of Kenting National Park (
Tropical forests are now criss-crossed with concrete paths made for "viewing" the sea, mountains, sunsets, sunrises, the starry night sky, monkeys, birds, trees, strange rocks, meadows and even people.
Everyone wants their very own unobstructed view of nature, even it takes using pay-per-view telescopes to do so.
To satisfy the public's need to "get away," to journey to see nature, our national parks and forests are crisscrossed with highways that lead to beaches, mountains and meadows, that cover sandy beaches and carve their way through trees -- four-lane highways, two-lane roads, one-way roads and concrete paths.
To satisfy the need to see -- and not waste time with anyplaces not "a key spot" -- roads built for the sightseeing hordes directly connect the designated scenic spots without bothering to go into nearby villages -- an attempt to create a "pure natural world," one without local residents, where the tourist comes first and there is no need to distinguish the guest from the host. Local vendors -- like the few surviving forest creatures -- appear abruptly from time to time in the landscape, to remind us how compassionate Taiwan's public authority has become.
To satisfy the need to "view," stores selling diving equipment are everywhere -- as are places where people can "see" the coral, schools of fish and underwater sandbeds.
The emphasis on and development of a superficial sightseeing culture has led to a shift in national policies from "ecological preservation" to interest-oriented "tourism construction." This desire to "view" has made Hengchun inhabitants lose the bond once shared between humans and nature. Politics have intruded on the area and business groups have occupied it, forcing local residents to depend on catering to tourists for a living.
National park policies emphasizing sightseeing have destroyed the ecosystem and cultural environment in Hengchun. Has the Kenting National Park successfully restored the rain forests since its establishment 20 years ago? The answer is no. Have the coral reefs in the tropical sea been successfully restored? No. Are creatures native to the area increasing in number and being carefully preserved? No.
Instead, people enter air-conditioned "museums" -- where the living are viewed to death and the dead can live on in beautifully printed guide books and photographic slides.
Hotels, roads and museums have been built one after another, attracting greater crowds and activities. Shopping malls have been built on the beach. Concrete bathing cabins are built on top of coral reefs to facilitate diving. Giant trees are cut down in order to create a nice view of the sunset. Parking lots and roadside stands have replaced trees, bushes and other flora.
My family has been living in Hengchun for generations, but now it is a scenic spot where fees are charged everywhere. My hometown has become a zone of forbidden places: the national park, state-owned animal farms, a nuclear power plant, military exercise areas, national missile bases, national ecological preservation sites and more.
The rest of Hengchun has been occupied by tourists -- the beach paths, the underwater world now littered with bottles, cans and lost cell phones -- with street sights that are undistinguishable from those in Thailand or Hawaii.
Whenever I gaze at the gigantic neon lights advertising KTVs and hotels that stand out against the tropical starry night, a picture comes into my mind: the scarlet, blinking neon lights are like red blood spewing from the veins of the forest, scaring away numerous birds and animals.
Isn't it time that the poor "weekend-oriented" culture and policies of a national park administration dominated by "sightseeing eyes" deserve further evaluation? Isn't it time to re-examine our desires for the purely visual? Isn't it time to stop making policies about culture, the environment and Aborigines based on construction plans designed for a "viewing" public?
I hope the incoming government will take a new stance and encourage the public to retrain their all too voyeuristic "viewing eyes."
Ke Chau-chin
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