We are a group of black-faced spoonbills who have fallen in love with the Tsengwen River (曾文溪) Estuary in Chiku (七股), Taiwan. Tainan County Government officials call us "happy." But we have not been so happy lately.
In the last few years, Tainan County Government has supported the building of polluting oil refineries and steel manufacturing plants near the Chiku Lagoon. They have also planned to build a waste incinerator and fly-ash landfills next to our foraging grounds. Now, since we left Chiku in May, the county government has ignored the advice of conservation groups and begun the construction of a parking lot and road winding along the levees within 100m of our main roosting ground. As a result, the once beautiful landscape has been destroyed. This will not only seriously disrupt the wintering of hundreds of species of migratory wild birds, but also set a poor precedent for conservation in Taiwan.
Tsengwen River Estuary is our beautiful stage where we perform our delicate dances for the enjoyment of you and your children. Our presence makes your bountiful land even richer. Our presence makes your skies even more spectacular. Our presence adds to the happiness of your children.
Tsengwen River Estuary is not an automobile concentration camp. It is and must remain a beautiful land of plants, birds and people. We sincerely hope that what greets us when we return to Chiku later this year is a not a dark, lifeless parking lot but the passion and love of Taiwanese people and a land full of vitality and greenness.
Minching Huang, PhD
Chairman, Tainan County
Wild Bird Society
Following by example
Like many, I was saddened to read that a young student was strangled to death by seven of his teenage classmates who then demanded ransom for his dead body.
Where did these children learn such appalling behavior? Were they not taught the values of honesty and integrity by their role models: the bank presidents who embezzle hundreds of millions of NT dollars; the university presidents who plagiarize (effectively steal) the works of others; the chiefs of Nantou (南投) townships who pilfer earthquake relief funds; the judges who run brothels; and the Olympic athletes who seek victory through the use of banned drugs?
Were they not taught the value of human life by their parents: the drivers who run through red lights and refuse to let ambulances pass by; the "rescue workers" who evade responsibility for four hours until their charges have drowned; the truck drivers who reverse over their victims to ensure that they are dead; and the chemical company employees who hope to make a quick buck by poisoning the drinking water of 600,000 people?
Taiwan has come a long way in the past 50 years towards freedom, democracy and prosperity. The next step, if Taiwan (and the world) is to become a more humane place to live in, is for parents to teach their children good ethical values, not by cram school or corporal punishment, but by example -- by speaking truthfully, living compassionately and showing our children that some things are more important than money. A good future depends on positive efforts by every one of us.
Chris Neumeyer
Taipei, Taiwan
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