[3047]PCT joins mass protest against farmland expropriation

Taiwan Church News

3047 Edition

July 19~July 25, 2010

PCT joins mass protest against farmland expropriation

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong, Lin Yi-ying

Written by Lydia Ma

Photo by Lin Yi-ying, Chiou Kuo-rong

More than 1,000 farmers across Taiwan gathered in Taipei in front of the Presidential Palace in the evening of July 17, 2010, to protest against the Ma administration for its handling of Miaoli County’s forced expropriation of farmland. Citizens touched by the plight of farmers joined them in decrying President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih’s aloofness in response to such injustices.

Conflict arose between farmers in Dapu, Miaoli and Miaoli Countywhen the government seized and demolished rice paddies ready for harvesting in order to make way for development projects. Similar incidents also occurred in TaipeiCounty, Taoyuan County, Hsinchu County, Taichung County, and Changhua County and the trend is slowly sparking nationwide concern.

According to reports, there are still 2,263 hectares of unused land reserved for “Industrial Parks” and 253 hectares of vacant land reserved for “Science Parks” across Taiwan, but the latest government development projects don’t seem to take these lands into consideration. Instead, officials have opted for expropriating more and more farmland from peasants, prompting critics to wonder about ulterior motives.

DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin who is a Christian, was present at this demonstration and mingled with protestors. She said the KMT government’s record on infringing on the rights of farmers has become progressively worse in recent years.

PCT leaders were also among the crowd of protestors on that night to represent the church’s solidarity with farmers. Pastors who were present included Associate General Secretary Lyim Hong-tiong, Church and Society Committee Secretary Huang Che-yen, and Indigenous Ministry Committee Secretary Omi Wilang. They were joined by leaders from a dozen non-profit organizations who’d come to lend moral support to Miaoli farmers.

Lyim said Miaoli County’s KMT government had ordered 2 excavators to destroy rice paddies already ripe with grain and ready for harvest. Though there remained a lot of vacant industrial land in Dapu Borough that could’ve been used instead, county officials still chose to convert arable land into industrial land.

He added that about 80% of local residents strongly opposed converting more farmland into industrial land, especially when previously acquired land still lay vacant. In light of these facts, Miaoli Magistrate Liou Jheng-Hong’s public policies were problematic and unjust and he urged the Control Yuan to take note and call an investigation.

Lyim underscored that farmers standing up for their property rights was biblical because God gave each person a land to call his own. When people lose their land, they also lose their roots and a vital part of their identity. Irresponsible exploitation of agricultural lands for industrial development is tantamount to selling out and destroying a country originally belonging to all Taiwanese.

Huang Che-yen reflected that PCT had been raising awareness on the rights of farmers since the 1980s and had even opened a center in Kaohsiung to reach out to farmers. The government’s contempt for the rights of farmers was utterly unacceptable and PCT would not abandon farmers in their fight against government injustices and unjust economic policies.

Omi Wilang added that the recently approved Farm Villages Revival Act would greatly affect 70% of Aborigines who rely on farming for their subsistence. The act also forces Aborigines to tear down, rebuild, or reshape any landmark authorities might deem detrimental or unsightly even if it might serve as a vital gathering place for Aborigine communities.

For more information and mainstream media coverage on this issue, refer tohttp://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/07/17/2003478138

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2010/07/21/2003478440