Aborigines in Katatipul village yesterday received good news regarding their fight against a proposed solar energy farm being built on their land, with the High Administrative Court’s Taipei branch ordering that construction be temporarily halted.
In January 2018, the Taitung County Government launched the bidding process for the 226 hectare “special area for solar power facilities and education demonstration,” which would become the nation’s largest solar farm if completed, but the Puyuma people say that they were not involved in the planning process as required by Article 21 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法). As a protester said last year, the problem was not “about supporting or opposing green energy development, but about consulting Aborigines before exploiting their land.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made development of renewable energy sources a key policy initiative after she took power in 2016, with the goal of having 20 percent of the nation’s power supplied by them by 2025. It is a worthy and important goal, and there should be little reasonable opposition to renewable energy itself, but the issue of where the facilities should be built continues to pose a problem.
Last month, about 100 residents from Tainan’s Lujhugou Village (蘆竹溝) traveled to the city to protest the construction of a solar farm near their land, demanding that it be halted immediately. Aside from concerns about the facility’s potential impact on the environment and the community’s oyster farms, the residents cited the same problem that those from Katatipul had: The developers failed to negotiate and communicate with them beforehand.
This is not the first fight that Katatipul residents have had with the government. From 2010 to 2018 they battled against the forced relocation of an ancestral graveyard, and finally reached an agreement after 11 administrative court proceedings.
Their resistance against the solar farm began shortly afterward. The residents said that there was minimal communication with them before the project was approved and bidding for the contract was launched. When there were meetings, they were mostly one-way policy promotion events, and they were not consulted on their needs or opinions, they said.
Although the government held a referendum in June last year in which the project was approved by a small margin, yesterday’s verdict questioned the validity of the process and cited numerous possible procedural errors that would have been unfair and caused a lot of conflict within the village.
Encouragingly, the administrative court said that while the developers might suffer some monetary setbacks because of the decision, no amount of compensation could make up for the loss of the autonomy, dignity and cultural pride that the residents deserve, and that the rights of the villagers should be put first. If the project were allowed to go on, it would only further harm the community’s right to self-determination, the court added.
This is an unfortunate situation. If handled properly and with the full participation of the community and consideration of its needs, the project could have been a winning situation for the village, developers, government and the environment. It is too late for that now, but the government and developers need to listen to the court and sincerely work with Katatipul residents to resolve the issues and find a solution.
This should be a warning regarding future projects — people know their rights and will not concede defeat without a fight. Callously pushing projects forward will only hamper the nation’s progress toward a green future.
When former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in 2016, she set ambitious goals for remaking the energy mix in Taiwan. At the core of this effort was a significant expansion of the percentage of renewable energy generated to keep pace with growing domestic and global demands to reduce emissions. This effort met with broad bipartisan support as all three major parties placed expanding renewable energy at the center of their energy platforms. However, over the past several years partisanship has become a major headwind in realizing a set of energy goals that all three parties profess to want. Tsai
An elderly mother and her daughter were found dead in Kaohsiung after having not been seen for several days, discovered only when a foul odor began to spread and drew neighbors’ attention. There have been many similar cases, but it is particularly troubling that some of the victims were excluded from the social welfare safety net because they did not meet eligibility criteria. According to media reports, the middle-aged daughter had sought help from the local borough warden. Although the warden did step in, many services were unavailable without out-of-pocket payments due to issues with eligibility, leaving the warden’s hands
There is a modern roadway stretching from central Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, to the partially recognized state’s Egal International Airport. Emblazoned on a gold plaque marking the road’s inauguration in July last year, just below the flags of Somaliland and the Republic of China (ROC), is the road’s official name: “Taiwan Avenue.” The first phase of construction of the upgraded road, with new sidewalks and a modern drainage system to reduce flooding, was 70 percent funded by Taipei, which contributed US$1.85 million. That is a relatively modest sum for the effect on international perception, and
At the end of last year, a diplomatic development with consequences reaching well beyond the regional level emerged. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state, paving the way for political, economic and strategic cooperation with the African nation. The diplomatic breakthrough yields, above all, substantial and tangible benefits for the two countries, enhancing Somaliland’s international posture, with a state prepared to champion its bid for broader legitimacy. With Israel’s support, Somaliland might also benefit from the expertise of Israeli companies in fields such as mineral exploration and water management, as underscored by Israeli Minister of
RSS