This is a story worth investigating. It is a news item about a protest held in front of the government headquarters (the Executive Yuan) by a group of indigenous people who are facing forced removal from their squatters' village near the Kanjin Bridge in Taoyuan County. I do not know if this is the same community of aboriginal squatters that has annually, for at least the past decade, been "removed" from their riverside settlement by bulldozers only to return and rebuilt a few months later. Is this the same group that candidate Ma told: "We treat you like humans, so we hope you'll act like humans." Nice. Just days later the television showed scenes of riot police pushing away protesters and clearing the path for the big tear-down to begin. And yet the aboriginal peoples, by and large, still favor the fascist blues. By Loa Iok-sin
Published in the Taipei Times as
"Aborigines Protest, Shave Heads"
Friday, Feb 20, 2009, Page 2
Amis Aborigines from the Kanjin (崁津) and Saowac communities in Taoyuan County that are facing demolition rallied outside the Executive Yuan yesterday, calling on the central government to intervene.
The two communities are located on the banks of the Dahan River (大漢溪) in Dasi Township (大溪), Taoyuan County. The Kanjin Community got its name from the nearby Kanjin Bridge (崁津大橋), while Saowac is the Amis word for "riverside," said Chang Chin-tsai (張進財), a preacher at the Saowac Church.
"Saowac has been there for 28 years," Chang said. "The residents are Amis from Hualien and Taitung counties who migrated to Taipei and Taoyuan to find work, but could not afford housing."
He said that the community has about 40 residents.
The 80 residents at the Kanjin Community share a similar background.
"I came here more than 20 years ago from Chengkung Township in Taitung County, because I could not find a job in my hometown," said Azun Balis, a Kanjin resident. "After I got here, I found a construction job."
In her sixties now, Azun still works part-time jobs on construction sites.
"With this recession, jobs are hard to find and if they tear down my house, I really don't know how I can carry on living," she said.
The demolition notices, issued by the Taoyuan County Government, came in May for Kanjin and December for Saowac, to make way for a riverside park and bike path. The county government said in the notice that the plan would also protect the Aborigines from the threat of flooding.
But Kanjin and Saowac residents resisted the eviction order, saying that in the decades they have lived there the areas have never flooded.
"No to forced eviction! We want to stay where we are!" nearly 100 residents from the two Taoyuan communities and their supporters shouted as they demonstrated.
Fifty of the demonstrators shaved their heads.
"They shaved their heads to show their determination to save their homes because they don't want to see bloodshed, but if the government doesn't respond to them, we Aborigines will certainly take more extreme action," said Panay Luni, an Amis who came from Taitung to support her people.
“Most of these people are in their fifties and sixties. They have nowhere else to go. Why can’t they just be left alone?” Panay said.
Council of Indigenous Peoples Vice Minister Wang Chin-fa (王進發), who came out to meet the demonstrators, only promised he would help negotiate with the Taoyuan County Government.
"It would be a little hard to allow you to stay where you are since it's illegal to live in a flood zone and all public servants must abide by the law. I'll talk with the county government to see if we can come up with a better resolution," Wang said, before being booed and interrupted by upset demonstrators, after which he hurriedly left.
"Our muddle-headed government only cares about achievements that people can see, they don’t care about people's lives," said Lin Chih-chiang (林志強), a Dasi Township councilor of Amis origin. “Politicians always say that they care about Aborigines and stand with us, but when they’re elected and we’re in trouble, they are nowhere to be found.”
The two communities are located on the banks of the Dahan River (大漢溪) in Dasi Township (大溪), Taoyuan County. The Kanjin Community got its name from the nearby Kanjin Bridge (崁津大橋), while Saowac is the Amis word for "riverside," said Chang Chin-tsai (張進財), a preacher at the Saowac Church.
"Saowac has been there for 28 years," Chang said. "The residents are Amis from Hualien and Taitung counties who migrated to Taipei and Taoyuan to find work, but could not afford housing."
He said that the community has about 40 residents.
The 80 residents at the Kanjin Community share a similar background.
"I came here more than 20 years ago from Chengkung Township in Taitung County, because I could not find a job in my hometown," said Azun Balis, a Kanjin resident. "After I got here, I found a construction job."
In her sixties now, Azun still works part-time jobs on construction sites.
"With this recession, jobs are hard to find and if they tear down my house, I really don't know how I can carry on living," she said.
The demolition notices, issued by the Taoyuan County Government, came in May for Kanjin and December for Saowac, to make way for a riverside park and bike path. The county government said in the notice that the plan would also protect the Aborigines from the threat of flooding.
But Kanjin and Saowac residents resisted the eviction order, saying that in the decades they have lived there the areas have never flooded.
"No to forced eviction! We want to stay where we are!" nearly 100 residents from the two Taoyuan communities and their supporters shouted as they demonstrated.
Fifty of the demonstrators shaved their heads.
"They shaved their heads to show their determination to save their homes because they don't want to see bloodshed, but if the government doesn't respond to them, we Aborigines will certainly take more extreme action," said Panay Luni, an Amis who came from Taitung to support her people.
“Most of these people are in their fifties and sixties. They have nowhere else to go. Why can’t they just be left alone?” Panay said.
Council of Indigenous Peoples Vice Minister Wang Chin-fa (王進發), who came out to meet the demonstrators, only promised he would help negotiate with the Taoyuan County Government.
"It would be a little hard to allow you to stay where you are since it's illegal to live in a flood zone and all public servants must abide by the law. I'll talk with the county government to see if we can come up with a better resolution," Wang said, before being booed and interrupted by upset demonstrators, after which he hurriedly left.
"Our muddle-headed government only cares about achievements that people can see, they don’t care about people's lives," said Lin Chih-chiang (林志強), a Dasi Township councilor of Amis origin. “Politicians always say that they care about Aborigines and stand with us, but when they’re elected and we’re in trouble, they are nowhere to be found.”
Deja Vu:
Aboriginal Community Resists Call to Relocate
Published in the Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/02/23/2003402475
Article Summary Lead-in:
Taipei County had built 150 apartments to relocate a community living along a riverbank, but some could not bear to leave the land or afford the rent
By Loa Iok-sin
Saturday, Feb 23, 2008, Page 2
"My father is unemployed. One of my brothers is doing military service, while the others are still in school. I have four children to feed, and my husband is in prison. There's practically no one making money in this family -- how are we supposed to pay NT$6,000 in rent?"
With fear in her eyes, Lu Mei-hua (呂美華), a resident of Sanying Aboriginal Community (三鶯部落), sat in front of her home on Thursday, after the Taipei County Government's demolition team tore down several homes in the community on Monday.
"When they [the demolition team] were taking down my neighbors' houses, I was so afraid they would tear down my home as well -- like they did many times in the past," Lu said, as she watched her three daughters playing.
After posting a notice on Feb. 14 asking all residents to leave their homes within three days, the county government sent a team on Monday to tear down the first batch of houses, most of which were left vacant after the residents moved out.
"This is classified as a flood area, and the law prohibits anyone from living here," said Wu Chen-sheng (吳振聲), a county Indigenous Peoples Bureau (IPB) official. "We're just following orders on demolishing illegal constructions."
The community is located on the east bank of Dahan River (大漢溪) near Sanying Bridge (三鶯大橋) that connects Sansia (三峽) and Yingge (鶯歌) townships.
Most of the residents are Amis Aborigines who moved to Taipei to work as coalminers or construction workers decades ago, and their descendants.
Unable to afford housing in the city, the Amis have settled and built their homes along the riverbank in Sanying, using abandoned wooden boards, canvas, tin sheets and other materials.
"My father-in-law has been living here since he worked as a miner at the Haishan Coal mine [海山煤礦] before the explosion, and this is where I met my husband," said Chang Hsiu-yi (張秀儀), a resident who discovered her house had been flattened when she returned from work on Monday.
The Haishan Coalmine was the second-most productive mine in the country before it was closed in 1989. The explosion Chang mentioned occurred in 1984, killing 74 miners, mostly Amis.
The county government has built apartments to help residents living in flood areas relocate.
"We conducted a census in 2002 on five Aboriginal communities that were illegally staying in flood areas along the riverbanks," Wu said.
"We found that 133 households would need housing after their homes on the riverbank were demolished," Wu said.
To solve the problem, the county government had built 150 apartments in Sansia, he said.
"In the 2002 census, we recorded 25 households in Sanying Community ... 15 of them have already moved into the new apartments," IPB chief secretary Yang Cheng-pin (楊正斌) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
However, nine more households moved into the community after the census, and thus were not registered. The problem now is finding shelter for "unregistered" households.
"We'll see what we can do and try to solve the problem before May," Wu said. "
"We'll have the 133 registered households move into the apartments first, and then we can consider having others move into the apartments if there are vacancies," he said.
After the first demolition on Monday, those who remained in the community were asked to sign an agreement volunteering to move out so that the houses could be torn down before the end of the month.
A number of households signed the agreement, but others did not.
Pan Chin-hua (潘金花), who did not sign the agreement, is one of the "unregistered" residents.
Without prior notice, the demolition team -- escorted by nearly 70 police officers, according to police sources -- moved into the community again.
Pan, who sat on a stool in front of her home in an attempt to block the demolition, was forcibly removed by police. A hydraulic shovel then came in, and Pan's house was demolished in less than five minutes despite Pan and her daughter's tears and pleadings.
"Where am I going to stay? I don't qualify for an apartment," Pan cried.
"We're just carrying out our superior's order. There's nothing we can do to help," a county Water Resource Bureau official, who declined to be named, told Pan.
"You didn't sign the agreement, so we can only [demolish your house]," said another bureau official, who also refused to give his name.
However, some of the "registered" residents, who are qualified to move into the apartments, said they cannot afford the move.
"Of course we'd love to move into an apartment if we could afford it -- who wouldn't?" Lu said.
Lu lives with his father, four brothers and her four children, including one who is less than a month old.
"My father is unemployed. One of my brothers is doing military service, while the others are still in school. I have four children to feed, and my husband is in prison," Lu said. "There's practically no one making money in this family -- how are we supposed to pay NT$6,000 in rent?"
According to the IPB, a family of six to seven can move into a three-bedroom apartment that rents for NT$6,048 a month, while a family of three to five can get a two-bedroom apartment for NT$4,536 and a family of two can get a one-bedroom unit for NT$2,267. Single people have to share an apartment with others.
Aside from rent, they have to pay utility bills.
During the interview, Lu's brother, who is attending junior high school, came home for lunch. He made a bowl of instant noodles, ate half of it and passed it around for other members of the family to share.
"My father built our home himself. It's not a perfect place to live in, it leaks when it rains, but it's still our home," Lu said. "We really don't have money. I don't know where we will go if they tear down our house."
"Of course you have to pay rent if you want to live in an apartment. Not only have we offered the apartments at a discount, but we have also waived the maintenance fee," Yang told the Taipei Times when asked if the IPB has any plans to help those who qualify for apartments but can't afford them.
"If they really don't have money, they can apply for low-income family compensation from the Social Affairs Bureau," Yang said.
Aboriginal Community Resists Call to Relocate
Published in the Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/02/23/2003402475
Article Summary Lead-in:
Taipei County had built 150 apartments to relocate a community living along a riverbank, but some could not bear to leave the land or afford the rent
By Loa Iok-sin
Saturday, Feb 23, 2008, Page 2
"My father is unemployed. One of my brothers is doing military service, while the others are still in school. I have four children to feed, and my husband is in prison. There's practically no one making money in this family -- how are we supposed to pay NT$6,000 in rent?"
With fear in her eyes, Lu Mei-hua (呂美華), a resident of Sanying Aboriginal Community (三鶯部落), sat in front of her home on Thursday, after the Taipei County Government's demolition team tore down several homes in the community on Monday.
"When they [the demolition team] were taking down my neighbors' houses, I was so afraid they would tear down my home as well -- like they did many times in the past," Lu said, as she watched her three daughters playing.
After posting a notice on Feb. 14 asking all residents to leave their homes within three days, the county government sent a team on Monday to tear down the first batch of houses, most of which were left vacant after the residents moved out.
"This is classified as a flood area, and the law prohibits anyone from living here," said Wu Chen-sheng (吳振聲), a county Indigenous Peoples Bureau (IPB) official. "We're just following orders on demolishing illegal constructions."
The community is located on the east bank of Dahan River (大漢溪) near Sanying Bridge (三鶯大橋) that connects Sansia (三峽) and Yingge (鶯歌) townships.
Most of the residents are Amis Aborigines who moved to Taipei to work as coalminers or construction workers decades ago, and their descendants.
Unable to afford housing in the city, the Amis have settled and built their homes along the riverbank in Sanying, using abandoned wooden boards, canvas, tin sheets and other materials.
"My father-in-law has been living here since he worked as a miner at the Haishan Coal mine [海山煤礦] before the explosion, and this is where I met my husband," said Chang Hsiu-yi (張秀儀), a resident who discovered her house had been flattened when she returned from work on Monday.
The Haishan Coalmine was the second-most productive mine in the country before it was closed in 1989. The explosion Chang mentioned occurred in 1984, killing 74 miners, mostly Amis.
The county government has built apartments to help residents living in flood areas relocate.
"We conducted a census in 2002 on five Aboriginal communities that were illegally staying in flood areas along the riverbanks," Wu said.
"We found that 133 households would need housing after their homes on the riverbank were demolished," Wu said.
To solve the problem, the county government had built 150 apartments in Sansia, he said.
"In the 2002 census, we recorded 25 households in Sanying Community ... 15 of them have already moved into the new apartments," IPB chief secretary Yang Cheng-pin (楊正斌) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
However, nine more households moved into the community after the census, and thus were not registered. The problem now is finding shelter for "unregistered" households.
"We'll see what we can do and try to solve the problem before May," Wu said. "
"We'll have the 133 registered households move into the apartments first, and then we can consider having others move into the apartments if there are vacancies," he said.
After the first demolition on Monday, those who remained in the community were asked to sign an agreement volunteering to move out so that the houses could be torn down before the end of the month.
A number of households signed the agreement, but others did not.
Pan Chin-hua (潘金花), who did not sign the agreement, is one of the "unregistered" residents.
Without prior notice, the demolition team -- escorted by nearly 70 police officers, according to police sources -- moved into the community again.
Pan, who sat on a stool in front of her home in an attempt to block the demolition, was forcibly removed by police. A hydraulic shovel then came in, and Pan's house was demolished in less than five minutes despite Pan and her daughter's tears and pleadings.
"Where am I going to stay? I don't qualify for an apartment," Pan cried.
"We're just carrying out our superior's order. There's nothing we can do to help," a county Water Resource Bureau official, who declined to be named, told Pan.
"You didn't sign the agreement, so we can only [demolish your house]," said another bureau official, who also refused to give his name.
However, some of the "registered" residents, who are qualified to move into the apartments, said they cannot afford the move.
"Of course we'd love to move into an apartment if we could afford it -- who wouldn't?" Lu said.
Lu lives with his father, four brothers and her four children, including one who is less than a month old.
"My father is unemployed. One of my brothers is doing military service, while the others are still in school. I have four children to feed, and my husband is in prison," Lu said. "There's practically no one making money in this family -- how are we supposed to pay NT$6,000 in rent?"
According to the IPB, a family of six to seven can move into a three-bedroom apartment that rents for NT$6,048 a month, while a family of three to five can get a two-bedroom apartment for NT$4,536 and a family of two can get a one-bedroom unit for NT$2,267. Single people have to share an apartment with others.
Aside from rent, they have to pay utility bills.
During the interview, Lu's brother, who is attending junior high school, came home for lunch. He made a bowl of instant noodles, ate half of it and passed it around for other members of the family to share.
"My father built our home himself. It's not a perfect place to live in, it leaks when it rains, but it's still our home," Lu said. "We really don't have money. I don't know where we will go if they tear down our house."
"Of course you have to pay rent if you want to live in an apartment. Not only have we offered the apartments at a discount, but we have also waived the maintenance fee," Yang told the Taipei Times when asked if the IPB has any plans to help those who qualify for apartments but can't afford them.
"If they really don't have money, they can apply for low-income family compensation from the Social Affairs Bureau," Yang said.
See a Video of an earlier protest.
http://www.peopo.org/portal.php?op=viewPost&articleId=13021
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