Taiwan Church News

3302 Edition

June 8 - 14, 2015

Church Ministry

Sun Moon Lake BOT Hotel Would Expel Thao Aborigines From Their Homeland

Reported by Lin Yi-ying

In the early morning on June 3, hundreds of Thao aborigines, who had lived at Sun Moon Lake for centuries and with only 732 people left, streamed into buses and headed for Executive Yuan to protest a BOT(Build-Operate-Transfer) Shiang-san Hotel project. This BOT hotel at west side of Sun Moon Lake, was planned to build on the very 2.8 acres land which was just situated on Thao aborigines' traditional preserve territory.

This BOT hotel project, bid by a Hong Kong land developer Bonds Group Company Ltd, intended to build a four-star tourist hotel, with 300 guest rooms in 6 floors high and 2 floors underground, targeting the rapidly increasing Chinese tourists.

In order to facilitate the construction speed of this BOT hotel project, Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration(SMLNSAA) even raised an administrative petition to Executive Yuan, overthrowing an environmental evaluation pre-requisite stipulating the approval by Thao aborigines as a necessary condition to let go this BOT project. This wrong-headed petition from the government made Thao aborigines felt that their living space and survival rights was seriously infringed and violated.

Under Article 21 of the Aboriginal Basic Act, the central government is required to consult with Taiwan aborigines before using any of its traditional preserve land for development. Apparently, in this Sun Moon Lake BOT case, the authorities deliberately intend to breach this legal request.

Banu Bagamumu, Moderator of Thao People Council, and Lawyer Chan Sun-quei, delivered their strongest protest and demand to the Executive Yuan: Thao people have legal rights to veto this BOT hotel project; either this BOT project should be scraped or a second environmental evaluation should be done before having approvals by Thao people. As to the mis-behaved officials in SMLNSAA, they should be punished or investigated for their transgression of the law and infringement of the rights of Thao aborigines.

Translated by Peter Wolfe