Forums provide Taiwan with soapbox

Delegates who were unable to take part in the formal proceedings at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, where leaders from the world gathered to attend the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), found a way to voice their concerns by attending forums.

Four case studies detailing environmental issues in Taiwan were presented during a six-day World Sustainability Hearing, a parallel event to the UN summit in Johannesburg organized by the US-based Earth Island Institute between Aug. 26 and Aug. 31.

In addition, Taiwan's anti-nuclear activists took part in a series of Global Green Network events sponsored by the Green Party in Johannesburg, obtaining a chance to host the Green Party's Asian-pacific Forum in Taipei next year.

Taiwanese students, working through the International Association of Students in Economics and Management (AIESEC), one of the largest students organizations in the world, are planning activities pertaining to the promotion of environmental education aiming at sustainable development

World Sustainability Hearing

Kelly Jones, executive director of the World Sustainability Hearing, told the Taipei Times in Johannesburg that the hearing was a forum for people whose interests would otherwise be unrepresented at the World Summit.

Jones said that the World Sustainability Hearing aims to provide a forum for everyday people to participate in important global governance discussions. Jones added that instead of letting governments and corporations define the problems and propose solutions, "we're letting the people speak for themselves."

After summarizing the findings of the hearing, the panelists, witnesses and organizers of the hearing will submit an analysis of environmental threats and sustainable development problems to delegates representing their nations and big decision-making bodies, such as the UN, the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank.

"We can't force them [the organizations] to read it or to act on it. But we can put it in front of them," Jones said.

Case studies from Taiwan

On Aug. 26, at a session on renewable energy at the World Sustainability Hearing, Lai Wei-chieh (賴偉傑) of the Taiwan-based Green Citizen Action Alliance, gave a presentation about Taiwanese grassroots groups and their fight against the establishment of the nation's Fourth Nuclear Power Plant while Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) of US-based Taiwan Environmental Action Network (TEAN) worked as a translator on the presentation.

Activists of TEAN, including Lin and another co-chair, Tu Wen-ling (杜文苓), acted as go-betweens during the preparation of the hearing. They introduced four case studies detailing environmental issues in Taiwan.

At the hearing, Lai spoke about Kungliao's (貢寮) fishermen and their resistance to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant -- the nuclear reactors and power generators of which were designed by the US but will be built by Japanese firms.

"Of course, Taiwan, like many other places, are victims of multi-national corporations' searching for new markets globally," Jones said.

Meinung reservoir struggle

Another case presented at the hearing featured the Meinung people's struggle against the establishment of a reservoir. Soong Ting-dong (宋廷棟) and his anti-dam allies from the Meinung People's Association in southern Taiwan gave a speech about their 10-year opposition to the establishment of a reservoir, widely known as Meinung Dam (美濃水庫), which was regarded by the government as the best solution to the predicted water demands of a planned industrial complex in a neighboring county.