Expat and International Primate Protection League representative John Spowart got more then he bargained for last weekend when his amiable afternoon saunter through the woods close to his home at the foot of Taipei's popular forest park, Four Beasts Mountain (四獸山), turned into confrontation with illegal bamboo farmers.
Having lived in the Sungshan District (松山區) adjacent to the park for almost five years, Spowart has witnessed a steady rise in the number of illegal bamboo plots in the area. Groves the size of basketball courts have replaced large tracts of land that were once rich in flora. It was only last weekend, however, that Spowart had come face to face with a couple of the perpetrators.
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
The British national's polite inquiries in regards the legality of felling trees and clearing large tracts of land in the area he knew to be part of the Taipei City Government-administered park were initially met by a flurry of insults followed by something along the line of, "What's it got to do with you?"
"They were annoyed at my presence and figured it was none of my business. But as I pointed out to them, I was on a public footpath and it was in fact them who had no business being there felling trees and planting bamboo," Spowart said. "It all got a bit heated. I kept asking them about their rights to plant bamboo here. Of course, they didn't have answers to this. I went to call the park authorities and they buggered off."
Along with betel nut palms, bamboo can be one of the most destructive of the harvested plants found in Taiwan. The root system releases toxins into the surrounding earth that kills anything attempting to grow and its canopy denies other flora the sunlight it needs to continue to thrive. One 2m bamboo plant can effectively destroy an area of 1.5m2 of land.
"People plant it because they know it doesn't need tending and grows quickly. It's a relatively easy cash crop to grow and one that is popular with people who have access to land and are looking to make extra money," said Hu Jer-ming (胡哲明), assistant professor at the National Taiwan University Department of Botany. "The effects of bamboo on the natural environment aren't as widely publicized as that of betel nut palms, but it is just as devastating."
"It's a big problem in the Taipei area. They [illegal farmers] figure that because the land is empty and not used by anybody that they can use it for their own needs," said Tsao Fu-chung (曹福忠) of the Taipei City Government's Department of Economic Development (台北市政府建設局). "We get dozens of calls every years from people like Spowart who discover illegal farms on land in Taipei. Of course, many more people ignore it, which is a pity as this only leads to more land being enveloped by the `farmers.'"
The problem of illegal bamboo groves within Taipei City's environs is not limited to Four Beasts Mountain. The problem is endemic on Yangmingshan (陽明山), especially in the Peitou area as well as in the areas around Neishungxi (內雙溪). Because of the large areas of land involved it is impossible for people such as Tsao to adequately monitor the area without public support.
As part of its ongoing environmental awareness programs, Taipei City Government's Department of Economic Development encourages people who discover illegal farms on government and public land to inform them. But though the city government sends a team of land specialists to every site where illegal farming is reported and erects signs informing would-be farmers of the illegality of using the land to cultivate crops, few of the unlawful farmers are prosecuted. Catching the unscrupulous cultivators in the act rarely, if ever happens according to the Council of Agriculture (行政院農業委員會).
"On a national scale the problem of illegal farming in Taipei is pretty small, yet it's still damaging," said a spokesperson for the Council of Agriculture. "A lot of the illegal farming takes place at night. These guys know that no one will bother them then. Even if people do stumble across them very few bother tell the authorities."
At present those caught cultivating crops illegally face a maximum fine of NT$600,000, or from between six months and five years imprisonment. While the city government program is proving moderately successful, many feel the number of calls needs to increase drastically if the problem is to be dealt with on a scale that will make a difference and deter would-be illegal bamboo farmers. Until then, however, it looks as if environmentalists such as Spowart are facing an uphill battle.
"The hills around Taipei are beautiful and have a pretty high density of species, which is good news for all of us. But if profit- motivated individuals are allowed to destroy it the impact will be felt right across the board," Spowart said. "I hope the city government can do something to enforce its own laws. It needs regular monitoring and a lot more citizen involvement."
When the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces 50 years ago this week, it prompted a mass exodus of some 2 million people — hundreds of thousands fleeing perilously on small boats across open water to escape the communist regime. Many ultimately settled in Southern California’s Orange County in an area now known as “Little Saigon,” not far from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where the first refugees were airlifted upon reaching the US. The diaspora now also has significant populations in Virginia, Texas and Washington state, as well as in countries including France and Australia.
On April 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched a bold campaign to revive and revitalize the KMT base by calling for an impromptu rally at the Taipei prosecutor’s offices to protest recent arrests of KMT recall campaigners over allegations of forgery and fraud involving signatures of dead voters. The protest had no time to apply for permits and was illegal, but that played into the sense of opposition grievance at alleged weaponization of the judiciary by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “annihilate” the opposition parties. Blamed for faltering recall campaigns and faced with a KMT chair
Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) stipulates that upon a vote of no confidence in the premier, the president can dissolve the legislature within 10 days. If the legislature is dissolved, a new legislative election must be held within 60 days, and the legislators’ terms will then be reckoned from that election. Two weeks ago Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed that the legislature hold a vote of no confidence in the premier and dare the president to dissolve the legislature. The legislature is currently controlled
Dull functional structures dominate Taiwan’s cityscapes. But that’s slowly changing, thanks to talented architects and patrons with deep pockets. Since the start of the 21st century, the country has gained several alluring landmark buildings, including the two described below. NUNG CHAN MONASTERY Dharma Drum Mountain (法鼓山, DDM) is one of Taiwan’s most prominent religious organizations. Under the leadership of Buddhist Master Sheng Yen (聖嚴), who died in 2009, it developed into an international Buddhist foundation active in the spiritual, cultural and educational spheres. Since 2005, DDM’s principal base has been its sprawling hillside complex in New Taipei City’s Jinshan District (金山). But
RSS