The future of Hualien is not decided by the bee and the king of Hualien! Gather citizen power and think about Hualien's fate

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The anti-divination bee movement quickly linked up in Hualien, becoming the biggest environmental struggle in Hualien in recent years, forcing the Hualien county government to "consider suspending" an attempt to quell public grievances on the eve of the march, but still failed to quell the anger. so far, more than 10, 000 people have signed a protest, and yesterday (20) more than 1200 people gathered to march, and more than 70% of them were locals in Fenglin.

Apart from a group of young people returning to their hometown, migrants and groups deeply cultivated on the ground, the more profound momentum behind this environmental struggle is that the development direction of Hualien has long been strongly dominated by those in power. Hualien's development vision lacks room for public participation, and civil society forces, which have been suppressed for a long time, broke out strongly because of this environmental protection struggle.

The struggle against divination bees has also made local residents think about what kind of production mode Hualien is suitable for sightseeing in the county. (photo / Lin Jiyang) Hualien has its own development model, and there is no need to set self-limits according to western standards.

On the eve of the parade, the "Red Coffee" in front of Fenglin Railway Station was brightly lit and the crowd went in and out, revealing the tense atmosphere of the impending war. This is the gathering place of the Fenglin self-help Association. In 7.1, people arrived one after another. Bookstore owner Lisin, holding a sea newspaper, repeatedly confirmed the details of the parade with cadres and members of the self-help Association.

Members of the Fenglin self-help Association span a variety of industries, including cafe owners, lieutenants, retirees, farmers and returning youth, community workers and theater troupe heads, bento shops and bean flower shop owners. This group of people are regular customers of the coffee shop, and the other part is long-term attention to local culture and public affairs, turning the coffee shop into a public space that gathers energy and becomes the most important core of this environmental protection movement.

"the population of Hualien is moving abroad seriously, and those who stayed in the past are sometimes ridiculed for being useless, and everything is the best in the west." Lisin, the owner of the coffee shop and from the Ami Fengxin tribe, has been involved in public affairs since Su Hua changed her topic a decade ago. she found that the biggest problem with Hualien is that she has no confidence in herself, not knowing that Hualien has a life that is the envy of westerners.

You Yanchi, a young man returning to his hometown, said that his busy work in Taipei made him doubt his life. He couldn't even find a parking space for riding a motorcycle, and when he was very discouraged, he would miss Hualien very much. It was only when he was very discouraged that he would miss Hualien very much. It turned out to be the most memorable place in the east, so he chose to go back to Hualien. Unexpectedly, big enterprises are changing Hualien step by step, and he believes that residents have the right to defend their way of life.

A self-help group composed of young people returning home from various industries in Fenglin and new immigrants, using cafes as a base, made intensive preparations for the details of the parade. (photo / Lin Jiyang) Enterprises come to Hualien to make profits, and Hualien people bear the bitter fruit of environmental damage.

Liu Wei-Kai, head of the troupe, added that westerners regard Hualien as a back garden with good mountains and good water, and enterprises come to invest after clean and cheap land. However, "Hualien people are the people who undertake this piece of land, sky, and air. Enterprises also come to say that they want to develop places and provide employment opportunities. Most people cannot see and eat. On the contrary, they have to bear the consequences of mountain excavation and environmental development." He thinks it is unfair to the people of Hualien.

Kawah believes that "enterprises buy people's hearts with feedback money, but Hualien people are kidnapped by this kind of welfare colonization, and they increasingly rely on large-scale construction and development to get back the money, at the expense of the environment and at the expense of their own right to development." She believes that without large enterprises, Hualien will have a chance to figure out what their path of development is.

Apart from worrying about the decline in environmental quality brought about by chicken farms, they argue that keeping the original life is Hualien's advantage. what's more, Fenglin is the first small town in Taiwan to be certified as an international "slow city." it must not be at the expense of the environment for the sake of temporary development. Li Meiling is one of the main participants in this Fenglin self-help meeting. Safeguarding Fenglin's "slow City" brand and development principle is her biggest demand for participating in this environmental movement.

She believes that "Hualien originally had the opportunity to take a different path of development, attracting tourists with its excellent natural environment and traditional culture, which requires the cooperation of environment-friendly agricultural products and the development of traditional crafts and small industries." however, the county government has attracted large-scale industries that consume a lot of resources, endangering the original development model, and introducing the western set into the east is actually seeking a long way from the near to the near.

There were also many people holding creative billboards at the scene, satirizing the county magistrate in the name of marketing watermelons and avoiding the embarrassing scene of facing representations. (photo / Lin Jiyang) Li Meiling, applicant for "slow City Certification": slow down to go a long way.

"when the first committee invited the Fenglin youth traveling to Europe to knock on the door of the Italian" slow City "certification organization, the other party found that a small island country in Asia noticed the slow City. He was so surprised that he was so moved that he almost let Fenglin join him on the spot." Li Meiling, who has spent three years applying for the Italian "slow City" certification since 2012, is now the director of the Community Development Association of Beilin three villages.

She explained, "behind the slow City is actually a set of sustainable development plans for cities and towns, including the proportion of people not to be too dense, not to pursue development excessively, the proportion of people to use water, the activity of civil society, and the development of organic agriculture, awareness of cultural conservation and environmental protection, which are all important evaluation indicators for" slow City ".

You can't have too many chain stores or rely on large-scale manufacturing. Pursue small-scale peasant production, small shops and traditional craft shops. Slow City stresses the need to help small industries adapt to modern business models and does not object to the use of online marketing in order to retain the right of choice without allowing the entire consumer monopoly to large enterprises.

Li Meiling believes that the Bubong case stirs up public opinion. "what most people care about is odor pollution and water source." but community work is more about how to make the town think about what Fenglin needs. "Li Meiling hopes to take the opportunity to clarify the development imagination of the east." if the world develops too fast, it will miss a lot of beautiful and important things, slow to go longer and farther, Fenglin's problem. It is also a subject that Hualien must face. " She said.