A peaceful protest turned ugly yesterday after a group of Taroko farmers demonstrated against Asia Cement Co's plant in Hualien to demand the return of the factory's land to them.
Roughly 100 of Asia Cement's employees were on hand to greet the 40 protesters.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
The demonstration started peacefully, with the Taroko farmers planting tree seedlings near the plant's perimeter and later performing rites.
But after a tense three-hour standoff with some pushing and shoving, the demonstrators broke through barbed-wire fences and forced their way into the rear of the plant's compound.
One Asia Cement official even vowed to kill the Taroko farmers.
"There will definitely be bloodshed next time. We'll kill you one by one," promised Chou Wei-kuen (周維崑), a company spokesman, after the group stormed the gates.
Asia Cement employees tried to bar the protesters from entering, which resulted in a dozen injuries to both demonstrators and Asia Cement workers.
Inside the plant's compound, the Taroko farmers planted trees and seeds and left signs claiming their rights to the land on which Asia Cement operates. They were unable to reach the mining area of the factory, but vowed to try again soon with more people at their side.
The violent clashes ended when police forces restored order.
"Why can't I farm here on the lands of our ancestors?" said Libihe Luback, a short, elderly Taroko woman before the demonstration turned into a scuffle.
Last year, a local court ruled that the Taroko people had the right to farm the land where Asian Cement's factory sits, but the company's operations continue to this day.
"I'm sad ... we cannot get back our lands, and the lands now are not good for farming with all the rocks laid there," said Labai Wubutz, a 70-year-old Taroko woman.
Although Asia Cement has refused to comply with the court's ruling, no government agency has stepped in to enforce the order.
The aboriginal landowners jointly notified Asia Cement of their decision to reclaim the land in a March 6 letter in the hope that the company would prepare itself to hand over the property by the March 12 deadline.
Legislators Pa Yen Ta Lu and Walis-Pelin said they have thrown their full support behind the aboriginal "land reclamation" drive and will help landowners to claim compensation from Asia Cement for the company's occupation of the land over the past 27 years.
After the KMT arrived on Taiwan in 1947, they took over the lands indigenous people had farmed for centuries, at the time offering them back some parts of the land.
Later, regulations were established that stipulated Aborigines could regain control of lands they had previously farmed for at least 10 years.
During that time, indigenous farmers' lands were owned by the government and administered by local village administrations (鄉公所).
But in the case of the Taroko farmers, the land was rented by the Hsiuling (
The cement factory claims the farmers gave up their rights to the property, and says documents have been filed to support the company's claim.
However, available copies of these documents and interviews with Taroko farmers suggest that none of them had ever agreed to give up control of the land.
Land use rights were in the hands of the Taroko and Asia Cement until the Hsiuling administration terminated the company's contract in 1995.
The Taroko farmers on Friday staged a protest demanding that the company remove surrounding fences, buildings and machines from the site before March 12.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS