Life

Amis aboriginals rebuild ‘taluan’ to protest Miramar resort

• Publication Date：06/25/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  June Tsai

Aboriginal Amis activists began to restore a traditional shelter on Taitung County’s Shanyuan Beach June 22, in protest against the controversial Miramar resort complex.

The “taluan,” a place to rest after fishing, was built last year as opposition to the southeastern Taiwan development project grew. Rebuilding it will take three days, according to the Anti-Miramar Action Alliance, which includes local activists and environmental groups.

In 2004, the Taitung County Government agreed to collaborate with Miramar Resort Hotel Co. to turn the public beach, a traditional Amis fishing ground, into a resort complex on a build-operate-transfer contract, with a 50-year lease.

Although construction of the main hotel building has been completed, resort operations have been halted as legal complications are worked out.

The Supreme Administrative Court ruled in September 2011 and January 2012, respectively, that the building permit and environmental impact assessment for the project were invalid, and ordered that all work be stopped.

A June 2 county meeting to review the EIA ended inconclusively, with another meeting to be called at a later date.

As activists began work on the shelter, Miramar officials accused them of spoiling the beach. “Tourists have been hurt while walking through the structure, which has not been maintained for several months,” said Chu Ying-chou, deputy manager of the resort’s executive office.

In response, aboriginal singer and alliance member Nabu said the real threat to beachgoers came from concrete rubble left on the beach from construction work on the hotel.

At the scene, Miramar opponents held up posters with photographs detailing how the project has changed the local landscape. A large-scale protest will be held on Shanyuan Beach July 21, they announced.

County officials said it is up to the Miramar administration to decide whether the taluan should be torn down as it now has legal control over the beach. (THN)