Tue, Jul 04, 2000 page2

• Battle lines drawn over garbage

  PASSIVE RESISTANCE Residents in one of the boroughs in Taipei's Shihlin district are refusing to cooperate with the city's new trash initiative in order to draw attention to what they say are long-standing issues the city government needs to address

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  While the vast majority of Taipei's citizens have embraced the city government's new garbage initiative, residents of one borough are adamant they will not comply with the new by-laws.

  While the standoff eased somewhat yesterday, the warden of the borough concerned has vowed to escalate hostilities if his demands are not met.

  Wang Shun-hui (王順輝), warden of Shihlin district's Fu-an borough, told the Taipei Times yesterday that he is waiting for the right time to fight back.

  "I'm waiting for my good friend Lin Ruey-tu (林瑞圖) to return on July 12 from an overseas trip, so we can talk further about how to stage the second wave of our protest," he said.

  Lin, a former DPP Taipei City Councilor and now independent lawmaker and self-proclaimed "scandal-buster," has gained notoriety for making headline-grabbing accusations that he often seems unable to back up.

  Last Saturday, when the city started its new garbage disposal initiative, Wang encouraged residents of the 1,000-household Fu-an borough to begin their protest by refusing to use regulation-size bags to dispose of their domestic waste.

  Of the 227 bags collected on Friday night, 179 were ordinary plastic shopping bags and three were discarded outside designated sites.

  Although the situation reportedly improved on Sunday, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said the city government will not tolerate civil disobedience by residents as a means to seek redress.

  Stephen Shen (沈世宏), director of the Bureau of Environmental Protection (BEP) also publicly condemned such illegal acts.

  However, Wang defended the residents' actions, saying there were legitimate reasons behind their "passive resistance."

  "We have been treated like second-class citizens over the past 30 years," he said. "We pay the same taxes as the rest of the city's residents do, but while they're entitled to a banquet every day, we're given bread and water rations."

  Wang referred to the long-delayed Shetzu Island Development Project (社子島開發案) -- in which the borough is included -- and the Peitou incinerator plant, whose ash fallout covers the borough.

  "We would like to see the city government provide us with annual physical checkups and we want the same amount of compensation as Choumei borough [where the incinerator is located] receives," he said.

  Choumei borough gets 20 percent of the city government's total compensation for the incinerator's fallout, Wang said, a figure which he claims should be applied to Fu-an borough, as well.

  Currently, the remaining 80 percent of the compensation is distributed to 90 boroughs in the districts of Shihlin and Peitou.

  The Shetzu Island development project, which would include raising the level of the land and construction of a levee to prevent flooding from the Tamsui river, was proposed by Ma shortly after taking office, and was approved last week by the city government.

  Wang said he would like to see the city government compensate house owners with equivalent size properties before begins demolition work on the old buildings.

  In addition, Wang said, the city government should have taken the initiative to first explain to local residents its plans, before publicly disclosing the project's details.

  The public has just one month to file objections against the project, after which the city government's urban development committee will examine the project again.

  One municipal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that political gain is what Wang is really after.

  However, Wang denied the accusation.

  "If I were to run for city councilor, I would need to focus my efforts in building up my credibility on a day-to-day basis, rather than on just one incident," he said.

  Hong Cheng-chung (洪正中), deputy director of the BEP, denounced Wang's actions to use the environment as a bargaining chip, adding that while the residents' resistance has thus far been passive, it could easily escalate.

  "I don't think the matter is over yet, because the garbage is still there. But our stance is clear," he said. "They have to play by the rules, no matter what."
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