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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique