The withering of Orchid Island

"There were fights all the time. You'd see the soldiers getting drunk off base and knew there was going to be trouble, especially if a group of locals were drinking anywhere within earshot of them," Chou recalled.

"Local resentment got so bad that the troops finally refused to leave the bases on their own. Going out at night became a no-no if you were a soldier and didn't want to get beaten-up."

Animosity and resentment of the troops continued until 1980, when, having become virtual prisoners in their own bases, the soldiers were withdrawn from the island. Not that the short-lived Taiwan military presence was a total waste of time.

The scores of rundown and abandoned military installations that lay scattered along the island's coastal road now double as convenient shelters for the multitude of mountain goats that also call the island home.

Two years ago, the island's lack of military presence led to talk of autonomy for Lanyu and its native Yami peoples.

Following a decade of Yami lobbying for self-governance, the Presidential Office, under the leadership of then recently elected President Chen Shui-bien (陳水扁), signed a document that promised "a new partnership between the Aborigines and the administration in Taiwan."

"There was talk of some kind of autonomy a couple of years ago, but like so many things here, nothing has come of it and we're still here waiting," Chou said. "I think it's a dream, but I could see the island run as an autonomous part of Taiwan in the future. We wouldn't be reliant on a Central Government to do things. So things would probably work properly, roads would get fixed and so on."

To date, little has come of the declaration signed by Chen on Lanyu in 2000. While the Central Government may have forgotten about it, many locals remember it very well.

"It's just another broken promise by the Central Government. They promised to deal with nuclear waste and that's still here. They promised to repair roads and houses and those problems are still evident," Chou said. "The declaration was just another idea thought up to keep the people of Lanyu quiet."

Although residents such as Chou welcome autonomy, some residents remain wary. Serious questions concerning the future of the island's children have left a large number of Lanyu's already much-maligned residents with yet another dilemma.

"I hold meetings with the children and their parents regularly and ask the question `In 10 years, where do you see Lanyu?'" said Hsu Chun-yuen (徐春園), headmaster of Tonghsing Elementary School (東清國民小學). "Nobody ever answers. Which I seriously think is because they know that if the island is to develop, it needs a healthy population, but they are also aware that the island is not a place where their children have much of a future. It's all quite frightening, really."