The mountain railway system, which offers its passengers stunning sunrise vistas of the 2,451-meter-high peak, had been publicly run for more than 90 years until the bureau transferred operation rights to a subsidiary of Hungtu Construction Co. Ltd. Under the terms of a build-operate-transfer project approved in 2006, the company will privatize the railway and develop the Alishan area until 2039. Among other improvements, the project calls for hotels to be built at either end of the railway line. The originating Beimen Station in Chiayi City will be remodeled to incorporate a hotel, while a more luxurious, 205-room facility will be built at the terminal Jhaoping Station in Alishan.
However, the decision to place the development of one of Taiwan's most loved sightseeing destinations in private hands has sparked protests. Members of the Alishan Community Development Association, the Alishan Tsou aborigines and environmental activists gathered outside the Beimen Station June 19 and voiced their concerns that the BOT project would have a negative impact on safety, the environment and the community.
Protesters questioned the company's ability to run and maintain the narrow-gauge railway, claiming that only nine of the almost 50 drivers employed by Hungtu had licenses. According to the activists, the only licensed engineers had been previously employed by the railway's public operators.
Safety has been an issue with the railway line as a major accident claimed 17 lives on March 1, 2003. This year, a further four derailments occurred between March and May. "If one more major derailment occurs, tourism in Alishan will come to an end," ACDA spokesperson Liao Jing-tai said. Liao said the association had been protesting the privatization plan for three years, but its warnings had fallen on deaf ears.
The BOT project formed part of the government's 2005 plan to double the number of tourists travelling to Taiwan. It set a goal of 1 million tourists visiting the Alishan scenic area annually, up from an average of more than 800,000. However, the railway has been in the red for the past 10 years, losing around US$6.5 million a year on average. Annual revenue averaged only US$2 million during the same period.
Lynn Lin, secretary-general of the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, claimed that the BOT project was an under-the-table deal and said that an environmental-impact assessment had not been carried out. He said that large trees would have to be cut down to make way for the hotel Hungtu planned to build on a mountain slope. A water reservoir will also have to be constructed to meet the needs of increased numbers of tourists, he claimed.
These developments would have a grave impact on the environment, he said, adding that the reservoir would cost a minimum of US$11 million.
Representatives of the indigenous Tsou people, meanwhile, said the project ignored their 30-year fight for rights to land in the Alishan area. On Nov. 9, 1976, a fire devastated a Tsou settlement near the Jhaoping Station. In the aftermath, the Tsou were forced to relocate and not allowed to rebuild their homes, according to Association for Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Policies member Yapasuyongu e' Akuyana. Without consulting the Tsou, the bureau had now allocated the very same land--2.2 hectares in all--to Hungtu for the construction of a hotel, Akuyana said. "This is obviously a violation of the ROC Indigenous Peoples Basic Act," he argued.
Article 21 of the 2005 Act states, "The government or private party shall consult indigenous peoples and obtain their consent or participation, and share with indigenous peoples benefits generated from land development, resource utilization, ecology conservation and academic research in indigenous peoples' regions."
Akuyana said neither the government nor the developer had ever solicited opinions from the Tsou before going ahead with the Alishan BOT project. He said the Tsou demanded that the bureau and the company abide by the law and negotiate with local residents to work out a co-management mechanism.
Certain legislators have joined the Tsou in questioning the legality of the deal. Kung Wen-chi, a Kuomintang aboriginal legislator, expressed surprise at the bureau's decision to allocate US$49 million of public funds for what was now supposedly a private project. Another KMT lawmaker, Chien Tung-ming, urged the bureau to negotiate with the Tsou. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Shu-fen and Lynn Lin, meanwhile, have filed suit in the Taipei District Court accusing the bureau of dereliction of duty and illegally benefiting a third party.
In response to the criticism that has rained down from all quarters, the bureau's chief Yen Ren-de said Hungtu's construction projects would only commence after an environmental-impact assessment had been conducted. He said the bureau would monitor developments to ensure that the company took proper care of the Alishan railway and the surrounding area, which he described as a "cultural heritage."
Hungtu Chairman Chen Hong-yi, meanwhile, pledged that his company would do its best to develop tourism without sacrificing the interests of the local community.
Write to June Tsai at june@mail.gio.gov.tw