Refuse to drink industrial waste water garbage sewage! Five mothers brave the garbage mountain and push the referendum to ensure that "we want to drink clean water"

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Hsinchu, named for its cluster of high-tech industries, has the youngest high-income ethnic group in Taiwan, but the quality of drinking water for Hsinchu people is close to the bottom of Taiwan. Five plain mothers found that "what the science park drinks is Baoshan Reservoir, which is clean water. But 750000 people drink water that seeps into industrial waste water, garbage sewage, and domestic sewage. Is that right?"

In order to protect the drinking water source of Hsinchu people from the threat of pollution, they set up the "Hsinchu Clean Water Alliance". Last year (2019), they successfully collected 6, 000 citizens to jointly sign, and will launch a referendum in 2021, asking the Bamboo City Council to legislate for the establishment of "regulations on Autonomy for waste Water Management". At the same time, it also requires Hsinchu County, where the water source is located, to promote a legislative campaign on water source protection and set up a river patrol team to regularly check the environmental problems in the upper reaches of Touqian River.

For the sake of people's right to drink clean water, they have persevered in pursuing problems and promoting reforms. Recently, they even called on the "Taiwan Clean Water Action Alliance" to gather more efforts to enable parents and children in Taiwan to drink good water. The real battle stories of these five mothers are more passionate and touching than the movie.

Five local mothers launched an initiative to ask mayoral candidates to promise to improve water quality immediately. (provided by the Alliance of drinking Clean Water) the plain mother bravely ran the garbage mountain and found that industrial and household sewage polluted the water for people's livelihood in Hsinchu.

Chen Cuiqin originally worked in the science park. After graduating from the physics department, she worked as a bamboo engineer for 20 years before she left her job and joined the Wilderness Conservation Society as a volunteer. In 2017, Zhou Jiangjie, a county councilman, revealed that a large amount of garbage had been hoarded at the Zhudong garbage dump in the upper reaches of Touqian Creek. Only then did she know that the water source that Hsinchu people drank had seeped into the garbage water for a long time.

She wants to do something, but where should she start? She decided to first consult Liu Niyun, who sells handmade almond tea in Hsinchu Green Market. The two met at a vegetarian restaurant run by another wild partner, Zheng Yuyu, who was only "watching" and aroused interest. then they asked another wilderness volunteer, Chen Jinling, and the four decided to visit the garbage mountain, which shocked them.

"the dump is so full that you can't see the fence, garbage escapes from the hillside, and sewage flows down the hill. Follow Shakeng Creek and then flow into Touqian Creek. " At that time, the four mothers could not help covering their mouths and noses, but they could not stop the stench and sickness, and not only the garbage mountain, but also industrial sewage, and even Zhudong household sewage also entered Touqian Creek.

The Zhudong landfill, next to the Tou Qianxi, downstream into the waterworks cited by the public, Chen Cuiqin was surprised that his head was blank at first, and then anger erupted. After the investigation of the Supervisory Yuan, the garbage mountain in Zhudong has been cleared. (we want to drink Clean Water provided by the Alliance, photographer: drifting Island)

"We were surprised that Hsinchu is a science city. Why are you still drinking industrial waste water? " Chen Cuiqin recalled that her first reaction was shock, and then she couldn't help flaming with anger, so the four people plunged into the water problem in Hsinchu. "what the science park drinks is the Baoshan Reservoir, which is clean water, but 750000 people drink water that seeps into industrial waste water, garbage sewage, and domestic sewage. Is that right?" They wondered.

The indignant four looked at each other as "social activists" and decided to find Peng Guizhi, a veteran of the social movement who had been involved in the trade union for a long time, to work together to change the peaceful life world of the five mothers.

Chen Cuiqin, a science mother, began to collect data and became an expert on water issues without teaching herself.

"but the people are far away from the water issue, so what should we do? We put our hope on the local elections in 2018 to let everyone know the seriousness of the water problem through initiatives during the election period. I thought it would be over as soon as I finished. Unexpectedly, it got out of hand. " Chen Cuiqin smiled and recalled the naive idea at that time.

Originally thought that one year should be able to achieve the results of the initiative, but unexpectedly has been fighting hard to this day. Water resources involve complex government functions and professions. She gives full play to her science mother's cool head, collects and compares all the government public data she can get, and has since become an expert on the Hsinchu Water issue without teaching herself.

In the eyes of other partners, Chen Cuiqin is the number one general, has a clear mind and logic, and has no difficulty in arguing with the authorities, and her remarks can make officials feel that this group of mothers are coming prepared.

Cool-headed and sharp analysis made Chen Cuiqin play the role of interrogator. (filmed / Lin Jiyang)

In May 2018, the Union complaint Supervision Yuan, and in July the following year, Supervisory Committee member Tian Qiufan put forward a correction case, believing that the Hsinchu County government lacked the ability to manage water resources and failed to do its duty to allow citizens to drink clean water. The report of the Supervision Yuan boosted the morale of the whole team.

When Chen Cuiqin was asked why she was able to persevere, she replied neatly, "the demand has not yet been met, but there seems to be a little progress. More and more friends agree to join the war and do not want to live up to the support of so many people, so they decide to continue to fight with it!"

Zheng Yuyu: children follow me to learn and grow up in this movement, which is my happiest thing.

"when it comes to environmental problems, most people probably touch their noses and leave, and most people accept their fate, but we are a group of people who support each other, and when we look at it, it should not be a bad thing for five mothers to come together and put forward their opinions." Zheng Yuyu said with a smile that she was still an ordinary person who was busy with her family most of the time, but when everyone wanted to move on, she chose to play a logistical role.

Zheng Yuyu's children are self-taught at home. She and her children take the initiative to read rivers all the way, stand on stage together and preach to the public, talk about picture books, talk about rivers, and talk about the relationship between water and people. She kept learning and thinking in this movement: "did you think that taking part in a parade was enough?" Can this change the fate of the environment? Since joining the Clean Water Alliance, I have been thinking about these issues and constantly debating them. "

"my children grow up with me, which is my motivation and my happiest part." She finds positive strength in sports, and she believes that action and persistence are useful, which is what she teaches her children.

Zheng Yuyu (right) usually plays a logistical role, but the league also has to play a guest role in action dramas. (photo / Lin Jiyang) Chen Jinling: joining the environmental protection initiative was laughed at by my husband as a "fool's act". Now I firmly believe that action creates change.

"after investigating the garbage mountain in 2017 and getting to know the source of water in Hsinchu, it was incredible for people to think that they raised their children with this kind of soaked milk." After attending wilderness courses for many years, it was not until that moment that Chen Jinling really realized that the problem of environmental pollution was really related to her life.

Chen Jinling said, "We are not girlfriends, but we get together every week, and Cuiqin collects all the public data to help people understand the problem." She opened her eyes wide and said, "We found that there are only seven factories registered for discharge in Touqian Creek, but there are hundreds of factories on this river, and no one knows where their industrial waste water flows." As excited as if he had found a treasure.

"on the contrary, smart people will use frames to limit themselves, but this process has let me know that politicians also have the problem of legislative laziness, and there are too many burdens and scruples-unless the people continue to act and form enough pressure to loosen the system." She said.

She said with a smile that at first her husband jokingly called them "five fools", but now she can only think about swallowing the words back. She said that in this solid civic class, she learned to "act to create change" instead of tolerating things that are wrong again and again.

Chen Jinling leads the children to understand the relationship between rivers and life through picture books. Liu Niyun: "Why do outsiders care more about Hsinchu than I do?" I got a bang on the head. "

Liu Niyun, the oldest in the five-man team, sells almond tea at the Bamboo Dragonfly Green Market. She is deeply moved by the concept of mutual trust between consumers and producers in the market, so she is interested in environmental issues.

"at first, I just wanted to say what I could do to help. I couldn't speak on stage, or I could help set up a camera." Niyun described her simple idea of joining the sport. What really moved her was Chen Cuiqin: "she is not from Hsinchu. She studies, works and lives in Hsinchu, but she cares more about Hsinchu than I, a native of Hsinchu, and gives me a good slap on the head."

Liu Niyun believes that her greatest achievement is to step out of the framework of self-restriction in the original painting, especially the role of a housewife: "Society has never expected her mother to come to the front, and I thought so in the past. But along the way, I feel like I'm finally out of the box and beyond the limits of age, identity, family, and academic experience. "

"you can't evaluate a person from any single point of view. it doesn't matter what identity or location you are. what matters is what choice you make and whether you take action or not." Liu Niyun admitted that she would inevitably want to give up, but as soon as she saw Chen Cuiqin and Peng Guizhi rushing forward, she also felt that she should not flinch.