|
Sanying community seeks out mayoral
candidates
By Loa Iok-sin / Staff Reporter
Director Hou Hsiao-hsien, second left, writer
Chu Tien-hsin and other well-known artists demonstrate in support of the Sanying
Aboriginal Community in Taipei County yesterday. They demanded that Democratic
Progressive Party and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Sinbei mayoral candidates
Tsai Ing-wen and Eric Chu visit the community.
Photo: Kuo Yen-hui, Taipei Times
Dozens of supporters of San-ying Aboriginal Community (三鶯部落) — including social
activists, students, musicians, writers, artists, film directors and academics —
yesterday visited the campaign headquarters of both the Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Sinbei mayoral candidates Tsai
Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Eric Chu (朱立倫) to ask them to clarify their stand on the
relocation of their community.
The Sanying Aboriginal Community is a small community where the vast majority of
residents are Amis Aborigines from Hualien and Taitung counties who moved to
Taipei to work as construction workers and miners about 30 years ago.
Since they could not afford housing in the city, they found a plot of unused
land next to -Sanying Bridge (三鶯大橋) on the Dahan River (大漢溪) and built their own
houses using whatever material they could find.
Over the past decade, the community has been razed by the county government
several times as the houses were illegally constructed in a restricted zone.
However, residents rebuilt their homes each time the village was flattened.
Although the county government built a block of rental apartments not far from
the original Sanying Community for residents to move into, many continue to
prefer the riverside village saying they could not afford the rent and utility
bills.
As the issue remains unresolved, residents are keen to know how the future mayor
plans to handle the issue.
“What we’re asking for is simple: Either allow the residents to stay where they
are or find another plot of land for them to relocate,” said Chiang Yi-hau
(江一豪), a core member of the Sanying Community Self-Help Association.
“We can discuss more details such as how to rent the land collectively, but at
the very least we would like to know what they have in mind,” he said.
Film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) said that “Aborigines are the real masters
of this island” and deserve more respect from the government.
Writer Chu Tien-hsin (朱天心) pledged she would stand shoulder to shoulder with
Sanying Community.
Eric Chu’s campaign spokesman Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) received the activists and
promised that the- candidate would visit the community in person within a week —
but declined to say whether it would be an open visit.
More than 200 Sanying residents and activists visited the two campaign
headquarters on Oct. 9, and both candidates promised to visit the community
within two weeks, but failed to do so.
A staffer at Tsai’s campaign office, Tseng Tsung-kai (曾琮愷), met with the
activists and promised that the office “will send someone to the community
within a week.”
Tsai commented to the media in a separate setting later that “making promises
[about Sanying Community] during the campaign is unrealistic.”
“To solve the Sanying issue, I must have a better understanding of it and take
into consideration Aboriginal culture and the residents’ wishes,” she said.
|
