Suhua Freeway Project has been in dispute for more than a decade. On 22 of December, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) opted for a plan to improve existing highway. However, we are yet to see if this decision will put an end to the controversy and path the way to sustainable development in eastern Taiwan.
The existing Suao-Hualien (Suhua) highway serves as a pivotal connection between Taiwan east and west. The highway runs through steep cliffs along the coastlines – one of the most beautiful sceneries in eastern Taiwan. Yet, driving on this road can be very dangerous because of nasty curves, climbs, falling rocks and landslides, especially in typhoon season or when earthquake occurs.
In order to develop the eastern coastal areas and ensure road safety, the Taiwan government began to plan for the “Suhua Freeway Project” (cn) in the 1990s. However, the project is full of controversies, leading to the policy gridlock for a decade. Supporters of the project argue that the new Freeway will improve road safety and the economic condition in eastern Taiwan, while oppositional voices are critical of its devastating effects on environment and indigenous communities.
Supporters are mostly believers in developmentalism. For example, Lin Zhou-shui, one of the founders of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, compares the dwellers in eastern Taiwan to the shepherds in Africa in his article, “An Atypical Argumentation: Suhua Freeway and Bellicose Bourgeois”:
在National Geographic電視節目看到黑人政府認真取締可憐牧人的牛羊進入保育區時，常感嘆，他們統治菁英把西方中產階級價值內化得真深；更感嘆那些溫馴的窮 牧人為什麼不向高貴的歐美中產階級嗆聲：富裕的你們把麥田牧場復育成野生動物保護區，在經濟上豈不遠比我們萬倍承擔得起？為什麼要我們忍受飢餓來維護你們 中產階級休閒觀光的樂趣和文化品味？當聽到感嘆台灣西部開發使原始野趣及保育生物多樣性的價值盡失，並主張東部生活愈來愈艱苦的百姓忍受回家都不安全的處境也要為大家保留淨土時，我就想到National Geographic的非洲節目。
Another supporter, KuenWei seeks for a balance between environmental and developmental value:
「我們不能否認每個人都有追求安全、想要回家的公平性存在，但是因為交通成本的問題，住在花蓮台東的朋友，這兩項在些階段來說，對他們是遙不可及的夢想…後山是個聚落分散的地方，運輸無疑相當不便，…從環保層面來看，蘇花高是不公且不義的事情，因為它會破壞台灣上千年來美麗的後山景觀，也會使台灣整體環境受到影響，不過環保不是唯一的價值，就像是我們不能夠只有愛情沒有麵包一樣，花蓮的發展的確遠不及西部。」
On the other hand, oppositional voices are skeptical about the economic benefit of the Freeway Project. Having lived in Hualien for years and completed his master degree there, Smallove, a blogger who partakes in the locally-and-officially-supported campaign, “Sustainable East“, asserts firmly on his blog:
「政客需要蘇花高來衝選票！
砂石業者需要蘇花高來賣砂石！
投資者需要蘇花高來炒地皮！
國工局需要蘇花高來讓自己有事情作！
資訊不清楚的人需要蘇花高來當救世主！
因為他們都不知道，花蓮要的是更好的生活水平，甚至要超過西部平原的生活水平，如果在花蓮就能滿足所有所有生活所需，教育水平夠，就業市場夠，醫療水準夠，再加上花蓮那麼好的生活環境，那…花蓮人還需要到西部去嗎？
所以，我不需要，謝謝」
Construction business for selling sand, gravel and rocks,
Opportunists for speculation of land price,
National Expressway Engineering Bureau for keeping themselves busy.
The ignoramuses expect the Freeway to save their lives.
Hualien should indeed improve its living standard. It deserves better living standard than the western flatland area. If we can enjoy good quality education, have enough job and health care services in addition to our nice living environment, do we still need to travel to the west?
Therefore, I need no Suhua freeway. Thanks.
The secretary-general of the Taiwan Green Party, Pan Han-shen also opposes the project:
「要一條平安回家的路並沒有錯，怕的是診錯病因下錯藥，況且回家的路不該只有一條，蘇花高不該被視為花東發展的萬靈丹。其實，蘇花高的南澳和平蘇花替路段，已確定不是國道，不使用國道基金，那麼重新編列的三百億元億算，或是未來整條完工所需的一兩千億元，如果都要給花蓮人，可以是多重選擇題，而不是蘇花高的是非題。」
However, if the government were to reallocate the budget to construct a road for residents of Hualien, they should be given multiple options rather than being forced to choose between the Suhua Freeway and no budget at all.—written by Pan Han-shen and translated by Ted Yang”
The website, “Suhua Bakery”, is established to support sustainable development in eastern Taiwan, it argues against the project and maintains that:
「一般贊成興建的聲音，大多從蘇花公路的安全性、運輸、聯外需求、觀光發展等面向發聲，但這畢竟是公共事務，使用的是全國人民的血汗錢，…東部地區因為地處邊陲，缺乏製造業或高科技產業完整的上下游產業，就算有了高速公路，對產業仍然沒有吸引力，當產業東移的政策目標註定達不到，蘇花高也必定造成不符成本的浪費。」
The recent decision made by MOTC seemed to put an end to the decade long dispute. Among the five proposals put forward by the Directorate General of Highways (DGH), the MOTC chose a combination of proposal No. 2 and 3 on 22 Dec. 2009. The plan is to improve the existing highway and ensure road safety in dangerous section, while at the same time leave room for for further upgrading of the highway into an expressway in the future. The current decision, in partial correspondence with Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, are likely to make the possibility of the sustainable development in eastern Taiwan (as advocated by “Sustainable East” ) much more foreseeable. However, the dispute has been going on for more than a decade, and it recurs whenever the political climate changes. Whether eastern Taiwan will follow the path of sustainable development is yet inconclusive. Time will tell!
