It takes just two hours to travel from Taipei to Hualien by train, but the nation’s north and east seem like two different worlds.
As the train pulls into Hualien County’s Sincheng Train Station, passengers can see Asia Cement Corp’s mine on a hill; at its foot are a few humble houses.
Further back are towering mountains, muted as if musing.
Despite decades-long efforts by environmentalists, most people did not know about the problems caused by the mine until they saw aerial footage shot by late director Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), who died in a helicopter crash in Hualien on June 10.
In the three weeks following Chi’s death, thousands of people signed an online petition and participated in a march initiated by environmental groups to express their fury over the company’s extension of mining permits.
The government made promises and the groups kept criticizing them.
The Control Yuan said it has launched an investigation into the case. Before long, people returned to their daily lives.
A group of Aborigines camped outside the Presidential Office Building to protest regulations about Aboriginal lands. They first camped on the Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei and, after being driven away by police in heavy rain, camped at a nearby MRT station to continue their protest.
People need evidence — photographs, videos, narratives — to have some taste of the truth even though it is not easily attainable in a world of spectacles.
“Officials said eastern Taiwan is behind the mountains, but actually this is the place that sees the first rays of sun from the Pacific Ocean,” Aboriginal elder Wang Ming-yuan (王明源) told visitors to his Dipit community in Hualien County’s Fengbin Township (豐濱).
His words are penetrating, as they challenge the stereotypes held by people with Taipei-centric mindsets.
Whether it is Taipei-centrism or Han-centrism, people outside the center continue to endure unfair distribution of resources.
What is the meaning of lands, and of existence?
The questions become pressing at a time when the government is promoting the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program and the Council of Agriculture is reckoning the nation’s farmlands.
People need to stop, look around and consider what sort of surroundings they hope to live and die with their loved ones.
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