It is now Greater Kaohsiung’s turn to be abruptly turned into a disaster zone. The recent gas pipeline explosions there were just the latest in a succession of dramas played out in Taiwan. The same old storyline is performed at different times, in different venues, by different companies, and each time with a different cast consisting of ordinary people.
It is ordinary people who are hurt by these disasters. They are forced to endure the hardships and sacrifice the tragedies visit upon them.
The history of modern civilization reads like a catalogue of human-caused calamities and natural disasters. Technology has enabled people to overcome some of the constraints placed upon societies by nature, giving them the tools with which to do so. This has encouraged people to make ever-expanding demands on the environment, and feel somehow superior to it.
Crucially, the key to whether the succession of disasters can be controlled depends entirely on whether people are able to see clearly the underlying causes of the calamities and be aware of the limitations of human actions, as well as their ignorance.
People can no longer flatter themselves with the presumption of omnipotence, of their ability to reign over nature. The natural disasters people face should cause them to abandon their exploitative mindset regarding the world and to replace it with one more mindful of their mutual dependence on the planet and the symbiotic relationship they have with it.
People believe in economic development and worship the gods of urban development, growth in industry and commerce, and land speculation. They have come to see cities as mechanized systems, thinking that if they can somehow control all of the links and relationships within the system, then they will be able to control, predict and manipulate how a city develops. That is why societies have shown absolutely no humility in their incessant, merciless urban development drive, plundering and raping nature in the process.
Just look at the unbridled land expropriations and rezoning efforts, and the crazed impulse to develop, develop, develop in major cities throughout the nation, Greater Taichung being a classic example.
Then look at the development of industry that is ripping into natural resources and areas of natural beauty, such as the Lushan (廬山) hot spring resort area. I will bet you did not know Lushan was classed as a major city, did you?
On top of these, there is also a long list of ambitious new urban planning projects involving private developers in the pipeline, such as the second-phase Tamhai New Town development project in Tamsui District (淡水), New Taipei City; the Taoyuan Aerotropolis; the Taiwan Knowledge Economy Flagship Park in Hsinchu; and the ongoing development in Nantou County’s Cingjing (清境) area.
Then there is the way the legislature is hell-bent on pushing free economic pilot zones.
Urban development has been out of control for some time now, and the pace of urban planning seriously outstrips demand for it, but the rabid development and land speculation goes on unchecked. Neither is anyone in power calling for it to be checked.
Taipei was founded in a basin and since then has been overdeveloped to the extreme. However, nobody seems to be disposed to the idea of reining in development. Quite the opposite is true. There is a plethora of projects under way in the city: the rezoning of conservation areas — Tzu Chi and Wego are currently engaged in developments in the Maokong (貓空) area and on Xingyi Road in Beitou District (北投) — as well as development of state-owned land, including the Huaguang Community (華光社區), the old Air Force General Hospital premises, Taipei Academy (台北學苑), the 202 armory in Nangang District (南港), Taipei Arena and the development of Shezi Island (社子).
Politicians, whether elected or campaigning for positions, are obsessed with continued development, while very few favor conservation or restricting new projects. This insistence on milking the very last drop is the root cause of the string of disasters.
If the 921 Earthquake, the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster, Typhoon Morakot or even the gas pipeline explosions had happened in Taipei, one can only imagine the epic proportions of the damage, a disaster to end all disasters.
Taiwan and its islands are its people’s own Noah’s Ark. It is just that the ark is heading for disaster because people have been using the land as a commodity; as a tool of investment and speculation. In the drama-documentary-animation hybrid The Age of Stupid, in which an archivist reflects on the world of today from the year 2055, the archivist asks what on Earth people were thinking, and if they really did not consider it worthwhile to make an effort to save themselves.
In Taiwan, with its limited space and dense population, it seems that people think about very little at all apart from three things: the economy, the economy and the economy.
However, if people were to factor in the accumulated cost of all the disasters that they have brought upon themselves, they might start to wonder just how good all this development is for the economy.
There have to be some changes, not least to Taiwanese values. They can no longer take economic growth as the only metric of happiness. Once there has been this necessary shift in values, perhaps there will follow a change in how people treat the land, which might even give people hope that the number of disasters can be reduced and people can live in safety.
This is not about regression to a primitive lifestyle, but people should consider pausing for a moment, reflecting on the past, thinking about the future and deciding what they should and should not do.
Taiwanese do not have anywhere else to go: Taiwan is the only home they have.
Liao Pen-chuan is an associate professor at National Taipei University’s Department of Real Estate and Built Environment and chairman of Citizens of the Earth, Taiwan.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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