Taiwan Today

"From Foochow, my hometown, I shipped lumber across the Taiwan Strait to Tamsui, and sometimes even sailed up to Wanhua. After selling it, I brought back Taiwan's sugar and rice or anything that could make money. My 50-ton sail­boat was also made of wood from Foo­chow's superb fir trees. She was a very nice ship," recalls Yu Fu-chin. Now 65, Yu works for the only ferry operating in the lower course of the Tamsui River, plying back and forth between the towns of Tamsui and Pali, both of which were once shining pearls welcoming sail­ ors to the mouth of this legendary river. "Every time I came to Taiwan, I saw hundreds of ships sailing the length of the lower Tamsui River. I also heard that in earlier days vessels could even go up to Tahsi and Sanhsia in the upper river, and that steamers sailed everyday between Wanhua and Tamsui. But I was not lucky enough to witness those bustling times," he says with regret.

But Yu has rich memories of early trade across the often tempestuous Taiwan Strait, and of Tamsui River and the towns along its banks. It all began in 1945. Yu, a native of Fukien Province, purchased a boat and began trading be­tween Taiwan and his home on the east coast of mainland China. At that time he was 33 years old, a youthful newcomer in comparison with the Tamsui River, whose broad and deep waters had for centuries enriched the Taipei basin and had served as the main communications link between Taiwan and the outside world.

Originating on the slopes of Mt. Ta­pachien in Hsinchu County, the 100­ mile-long Tamsui River runs northward into Taipei basin, drawing on the tribu­tary waters of the Hsintien and Keelung Rivers, then turns northwestward to meet the Taiwan Strait at Tamsui Town, near the river's estuary. The third longest river in Taiwan, the Tamsui is also the most navigable and has played a key role in the development of the agricul­ture and general economy of its 1,055­ square-mile drainage basin. The history and culture of the early settlers were closely tied to the river, making it in many ways the cradle of civilization for northern Taiwan.

The early development of Taiwan began in earnest during the 17th Century when significant numbers of Chinese began immigrating from the mainland provinces bordering the Taiwan Strait. For those coming to the northern part of the island, Tamsui was the major point of entry. Although Keelung to the north­ east was also endowed with an excellent natural harbor, mountains blocked access to the Taipei basin, preventing it from offering much competition to Tam­sui. As a result, Tamsui and its compan­ion town of Pali quickly grew into thriving economic and transportation centers. And thanks to the river's navigability, adventurous immigrants also sailed upstream to explore the fertile inland territories at that time inhabited only by the aboriginal Hoba and Atayal peoples. The abundant waters of the Tamsul fed the newcomers' cattle and irrigated their crops, and its curving banks soon be­ came dotted with houses and temples, then villages and towns. The culture of the Han people—the predominate ethnic group in China-gradually spread and took root throughout the Tamsui basin. The rich area became regarded as a para­dise by its newest inhabitants.

Immigration to Taiwan increased notably after 1760, when the Manchu government in Peking rescinded the hated ban that had forbidden immigrants from taking their families with them to Taiwan. By 1800, port towns in the middle course of Tamsui River-such as Wanhua, Hsinchuang, and Talung­ tung—had developed into bustling busi­ness and transportation centers. When Taiwan was opened to foreign trade by the Treaty of Tientsin with Britain and France in 1858, Tamsui rapidly devel­oped into an international commercial port. The river's heyday was underway. Hundreds of foreign and Chinese steamers, plus sailing vessels, crowded the river. Even Tahsi and Sanhsia, both over 30 miles from the estuary, enjoyed enormous prosperity since they could be easily reached by smaller sailboats.

Thanks to the free flowing waters of the Tamsui, local products such as rice, sugar, coal, camphor, and tea leaves could be carried straight down to Tamsui for export. Destined mostly for the United States and Japan in addition to the mainland provinces, the export goods that crammed the river's vessels were replaced by imported goods and dally necessities for shipment back to settlers along the river. By the 1890s, the port of Tamsui accounted for 63 percent of the overall trade for the island, and the peo­ple along the banks of the Tamsui River became steadily more prosperous be­cause of its dependable support.

But abundance was coupled with abuse. With the steadily increasing number of immigrants arriving to start new lives on the island, forests were felled and wastelands were opened up for more houses and agricultural development. Simultaneously, the work of soil conservation was neglected. As it rained and the river flooded, large quantities of rich soil were washed away downstream. Year by year, gradually clogged by silt formed of mud and sand, the river be­ came shallower, eventually reducing the prosperity of the port towns. Then, after being linked by rail with Taipei in 1900, Keelung Harbor broke its long-lime isolation and soon became the largest port in northern Taiwan, replacing the declining port or Tamsui in popularity.

By 1910, Tamsui only accounted for 15 percent of the island's overall trading volume, and in 1930, this dropped to an insignificant 0.9 percent. There was a brief revival for a short period after World War II, however, when the Chi­nese government recovered Taiwan from Japanese rule in 1945, and desig­nated Tamsui as an inter-provincial commercial port between Taiwan and the mainland maritime provinces—a lime that old Mr. Yu experienced and fondly remembers. But worries about a possible Communist invasion prompted the government to blockade the port of Tamsui in 1949. Thereafter, it acted only as a moorage for fishing boats, and residents along the Tamsui River never saw the graceful sailing ships again. The old, pic­turesque river towns declined in importance as well. Major construction programs implemented by the government islandwide after 1950 brought new bridges, highways, and railroads to the Taipei basin, and new cities sprung up, replacing Tahsi, Sanhsia, Hsinchuang, Tataocheng, and Wanhua in importance. Their once leading roles in Taiwan's early economic development because of the old Tamsui River all receded into the background-and into the memories of sailors like Yu Fu-chin.

The Sights of "flying steamers at the mouth of Huwei" (the original name of Tamsui Town) and the "roaring waves of the Tamsui River"—two of the famous scenic views of northern Taiwan noted by the official Record of Tamsui Ting Administration edited in 1871­ became only historical phrases. But even though the river was no longer a major transportation artery, people in northern Taiwan did not love it less. For decades it continued serving the inhabitants in its catchment area, providing them with flowing water for irrigation, drinking, bathing, fishing, and boating. Mean­while, the picturesque scenery along the river inspired countless poets, writers, and artists. Stories both romantic and historical concerning the river were told and transmitted from generation to generation, making the river legendary is­ landwide.

But no longer. The legends are being replaced with complaints, derogatory references, and outright contro­versy.

"Now the whole river is like this," old Mr. Yu sighs, pointing at the turbid water and the garbage floating on it "It is polluted. No one comes here for boating now, and very few fish can survive in it, not even crabs. In the past, schools of mullet came from the sea to the port, and we simply waited here to catch them. But now they all remain beyond the river's mouth, not daring to swim in."

Only fifteen years ago, Yu could still board his sampan and go fishing everyday-just as hundreds of other fishermen along the river-and always catch e­nough to support his family. The Tamsui River was still full of abundant marine life, famous among foreign tourists as well as gourmets from all over the island, who frequently came to Tamsui just for a taste of the delicacies prepared from the rich variety offered by the river. But now the fish have vanished, the shrimps have disappeared, and fish­ermen turn their boats to the outer seas. Local restaurants only serve seafood caught from the ocean, or even catches transported from Keelung Harbor. Lee Chia-ming, the owner of a restaurant in Tamsui, sums up the problem in a sentence: "Even if a fishing boat catches anything in the river, 1 wouldn't risk pur­chasing it." Mrs. Huang Yueh-chen, a resident of Hsinchuang, puts it even more bluntly: "Yes, I am still fond of this river, but 1 will never taste anything from it."

Indeed, anyone that has ever seen the polluted Tamsui River would agree without hesitation. But why? What has happened to this once picturesque river with its long, romantic history? It is not a long story, but it is a sad one.

The past thirty-odd years has been characterized by rapid industrial production and agricultural development. The ROC economy has enjoyed a smooth "takeoff," and people's living standards and per capita income have risen substantially. Nevertheless, while new cities along the banks of the Tamsui River have grown and nourished, there has been a heavy price. The stark reality is simply that in payment for these impressive accomplishments, everyone has sacrificed something long cherished—a clean river.

In the upper reaches of the river, trees have been recklessly logged and hillsides excessively leveled for new communities and farmlands. And soil conservation has rarely been implement­ed as part of the development plan. Other polluting sources include waste water from coal-washing, which has been freely introduced into the river by the mining industry. Businessmen after a quick profit, and not always legally, harvest sand and quarry stones from the river, without any regard for the serious damage done to the riverbed. Irrigation water containing pesticides from agricul­tural lands and pig pen wastes are improperly channeled to the river. And in scenic spots, tourists and campers care­lessly wash dirty cooking equipment in the river and, naturally, throw garbage and other waste into it.

In the middle and lower river areas, factories and families are the major contributors to the river's sad state. Accord­ing to official statistics, there are now ap­proximately 10,000 shops and factories along the Tamsui River, with at least 500 of them continuously discharging large amounts of filthy effluent into the river. In addition, considerable amounts of waste from homes and duck farms also now into the river, adding to the pollu­tion. As if this were not bad enough, some cities and towns have "solved" their garbage disposal problems by dumping it directly into the river and its tributaries, such as the Keelung and Hsintien Rivers. As a result, while mod­ern industrial civilization raises its head high and walks in giant strides along the banks of the river, its cultivator and sup­porter, the Tamsui River, Quietly suffers unending insult and humiliation. "Tam­sui," which translates as "fresh water" from the Chinese, is now a name which pollution has rendered an ironic misnomer.

During 1986, Dr. You Yii-der, Professor of National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, conducted extensive research on the water quality of the Tamsui. He concluded that the river is rapidly deteriorating and is now no more than "a place for sewage drainage." The river has "turned rancid and black, and contains high levels of toxicity, the severity of which is in excess of what the Thames River in London was 80 years ago, the Rhine River in the Ruhr area 60 years ago, the Whampoa River in Shanghai 40 years ago, and the Yodogawa in Tokyo 20 years ago."

Official investigations have confirmed the river's precipitous decline in quality. According to the Sewerage Engineering Department of the Taipei City Government, which each year assesses pollution levels along the 65-mile section of the Tamsui River and its tributaries within the boundaries of the Taipei metropolitan district, there were only a 10-mile and a 1-mile section, in 1982 and 1983 respectively, still up to the water quality standards set by the National Health Administration. But after 1984, for three consecutive years the whole river section within Taipei's boundary has been below minimum standards, with low or even zero dissolved oxygen quantity. In plain words, the water is malodorous, poisonous, and totally un­hospitable to aquatic life. Even birds cannot bear to land on it.

Marshes along the Tamsui River, such as Kuantu, used to be "heavenly places" for migratory birds 20 years ago, according to Mr. Chen Yeh-wang, chairman of the activity committee of the Wild Bird Society of Taipei, but industri­al waste and garbage have destroyed this once beautiful habitat. "Look closely with your binoculars. What you see are but a few wild ducks; all the rest of the objects are pieces of garbage." Chen says he always has to point out this distressing fact to new bird watchers, whose enthusiasm is often diminished by the sight. In the past, more than ten thousand migra­tory birds used to come yearly to rest at Kuantu, a unique ecological environment at the confluence of the Tumsui and Keelung Rivers. But now the water emits an unsavory smell, clearly indicating the destruction of the ecological environment. And each year the number of migratory birds stopping here be­comes fewer and fewer.

The Tamsui River is seriously ill, suffering from "industrial black death." Thirty years ago, it was clean enough for drinking and cooking, and alive with fish and shrimp; but now, the fish are gone, the aquatic plants have withered, and people stay away. Twenty years ago, sampans and fishermen were seen everyday plying the river. Today a few sampans are maintained in Kuantu only for the occasional tourists to take photographs, while older citizens can only go to privately-owned small fishponds beside the river to refresh their memories of aquatic beauties past. Even ten years ago, the Tamsui was still a dreamy river that gave spiritual sustenance to those enjoying its beauties. But it has become a disturbing sight and—as if being given up for dead—high dikes have been built along its banks, actually for flood control but seemingly as a method of isolating a previously faithful friend. Once embraced so closely by local citizens, the Tamsui River is now far away from their lives.

The river, however, flows through the densely-populated Taipei basin where four million people live, and there is no way to overlook it. In fact, a campaign has just begun to bring new life back to the river and its ecological environment. Local people are determined not to turn a blind eye to it any longer.

Recently, Premier Yu Kuo-hwa expressed the government's determination to rejuvenate the Tamsui, and Taiwan Provincial Governor Chiu Chuang-huan also made a promise: "By the year 2000, the Tamsui River will be clean and alive with fish and shrimp." Thanks to an am­bitious plan, these are not empty words. The Taiwan Provincial Government (TPG) has set a timetable for cleaning up the seriously polluted river, and the initial stages of the project were begun last year. "The core of the cleaning pro­ject is the building of sewage treatment systems around the Taipei metropolitan area. These will be constructed in three five-year stages at a total cost of US$800 million," explains Director Tsay Jaw­-yang of the TPG's Housing and Urban Development Bureau. When the project is completed in 2000, sewage will no longer be dumped directly into the Tamsui River, but will be carried to waste water treatment plants for cleaning. Following treatment, the water will be carried out to sea through a 41/2 mile long pipeline. Tsay adds: "With a sufficient quantity of dissolved oxygen, the water will be clean, fish can happily swim in it, and the Tamsui River will be restored to its original condition. So it should not be considered a wild wish that the citizens in northern Taiwan can regain a clean river for the pleasures of boating and fishing, just like the old days."

At the same time, Taipei Mayor Hsu Shui-teh has vowed to fight against the pollution problem. As a first step, addi­tional sewer systems are underconstruction to keep pollutants from the Keelung River, one of the Tamsui's primary tributaries, which has long been referred to by local citizens as "a huge stinky gutter." Other follow-up measures will also be taken to restore the famous river to its previous state. The mayor is confi­dent that the water quality in the river can be thoroughly rejuvenated within ten years.

Legal measures have also been taken to deal more effectively with polluters. Be it intentional or not, man­ made water pollution will no longer be tolerated. Government authorities will strictly enforce laws to ensure the clean­ness of water resources and protect the river landscape. Originally, only mines and industrial factories were under con­trol according to the water Pollution Control Act promulgated in 1974. Since 1984, the regulations of the Act have been expanded to cover other sources of pollution, such as that from poultry and animal husbandry, public waste material disposal grounds, and waste from hospitals and medical laboratories. Moreover, heavier fines will be imposed on violators, and if necessary factories and businesses can be ordered to stop operation.

Not only the government is determined to overcome the Tamsui's pollution problems; the public has also shown increasing concern about the situation, especially as its impact upon the quality of the living environment of those in northern Taiwan has become greater. In March of this year, the ROC Cultural and Educational Corporate Foundation of Environment Quality, and four other civilian groups, launched a "Save the Tamsui River" drive to urge the govern­ment and the public to pay more atten­tion to the serious pollution problem. Their joint proclamation eloquently stated the current status of the river and their plans for urging its correction: "Although modern, intelligent people reside on the banks of the Tamsui River, busy life, high dikes, and dirty water have made us forget that there ever was a beautiful river sharing our lives; we now wish neither to remember nor men­tion the Tamsui River because it has become a disgrace." The foundation in­ tends to coordinate joint efforts to erase this environmental blight by sponsoring seminars, essay and art contests, on-the-spot tours, and a signature campaign that seeks one million supporters for the clean-up movement. They have already found considerable support from other residents in the Taipei basin.

"It is really encouraging that our citi­zens have finally become more conscious of the importance of environmental protection, and even wish to personally participate in the work. However, to get rid of the pollution in the Tamsui River is just the first step," says Prof. Lin Yao-sung of National Taiwan University, who received his doctor's degree from Cornell University in natural resources management. "Our citizens' greatest wish at present is just to have a clean river, but you can be sure that after 20 years people will ask for more. By the time the Tamsui River is clean, if I may be so optimistic to say so, our citizens will definitely demand a beautiful land­scape to be cultivated along the river. People will want to be able to play in the water, to be close to the aquatic life, and to walk along the riverbanks. Therefore, an overall plan should be made along with the cleanup of the Tamsui. Other­wise, if the landscape is destroyed, it can never be restored."

Lin says that soil dumping and land reclamation have already damaged the beach landscape along the Tamsui River, and appropriate measures should be taken immediately to stop the de­struction before it is too late. Fortunate­ly, through the continuous efforts of Lin and other ardent conservation-minded citizens, the authorities have been suc­cessfully persuaded to place higher priority on the pollution problem. The Tai­pei City Government already has a rehabilitation campaign underway, based on studies by National Taiwan University's Prof. You and other scholars, to trans­form the riverside landscape into a beautiful green-belt through Taipei. At the same time, Prof. Lin has been invited by the city government to make a detailed plan for the construction of Kuantu Nature Park, the first of its kind in Taipei. A second bird sanctuary beside the Tamsui River is among other pro­posed development projects.

In addition to highlighting the relatively new environmental protection awareness among Taiwan's residents, the Tamsui River pollution problem—and the movements to overcome it—have actually stimulated citizens to ponder their long-term relationships with the land. Although it will be a long time before the river can clearly reflect the sunset and beautiful Mt. Kuanyin in clean waters, the first steps have been taken to restore the legendary Tamsui River to its former role as a center of history, romance, recreation, and contemplation. The river has done its best; it is now the people's turn.