Global Voices Online » I-fan Lin

Taiwan: The future for the aboriginal people after Typhoon Morakot

I-fan Lin — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 03:03:47 +0000

Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan Aug. 7-9, triggering the worst flooding in 50 years in southern Taiwan and leading to landslides that buried remote mountainous villages and tribal settlements. In order to speed up the post-disaster reconstruction, the Legislative Yuan passed an urgent special statute to raise a special budget on 27 of August. However, the Statue authorizes governments at all levels to impose compulsory relocation of villages or tribal settlements from areas vulnerable to floods and landslides to safer areas. For aboriginal people, the geographical location and tribal community are crucial to the preservation of their culture and tradition, many are worried that the “compulsory relocation policy” would make their more vulnerable in the future.

Home buried in mud

imagelight visited Mashia village and reported,

橋樑房屋無一倖免，全被土石流吞噬…村裡像是剛戰爭過一樣…還有二十幾名村民被埋在土石堆裡。

The bridges and buildings were all engulfed by the mudslide…The village looks like a battlefield… More than twenty people were buried in the mud.

由於道路不通，電力一直無法恢復…晚餐五點多就開始吃了，就是怕天色暗了夾不到菜…現在要清理道路，就是希望可以將山上的水果運送到山下去賣，順道帶幾部發電機回來。

Because the roads are still blocked by the mud, there is no electricity…Villagers have to eat dinner at 5pm or they have to eat in the dark after sunset…Now the residents are trying to clean the roads so that they can bring fruits to sell in the markets and bring back some electricity generators.

After the typhoon, many people from other less affected aboriginal villages bring food and generators across the mountains to these isolated villages. Judie reported,

遠從宜蘭、桃園、新竹來的泰雅族勇士(包括女性)，以最簡單的提袋(ka-chi-a)綁上綿繩和塑膠水管當背包，揹著重重的民生物資，徒步越過已不成路的土石堆，進入鄒族部落。這樣的行動持續超過兩個禮拜。

The Atayal people (including women) from Yilan, Taoyuan, and Hsinzu have carried these heavy supplies with the backpacks made of simple bags, cotton ropes, and plastic tubes for two weeks. They walked across the mountains to go to the Tsou villages.

The government asks the survivors to evacuate, but many of the villagers prefer to stay in the villages. Gaea explained their reasons.

居民不願下山「是擔心政府之後就不開路，我們就回不了家」…「下了山，我們就不是『居民』，而是『難民』。」三民國中教師葉一萱指出，原住民離開部落，幾乎不受任何法律保障。

These residents choose to stay in the village because they are worried that ‘if we have left our village, we will not be able to come back.'…'Once we have left our village, we are no longer considered as “residents”, we become “refugees.”‘ A teacher in Sanming junior high school said there isn't any law to protect aboriginal people's rights and properties once they have left their villages.

Culture and social network

In addition to material damages, the Typhoon has also destroyed aboriginal people's culture heritage. Airportman said that in Hsiaoliin village,

平埔族聚落幾乎覆滅，他們辛苦活化起來的大滿族文化、夜祭、公廨都淹沒在泥土裡。

the Siraya tribe is almost vanished; now everything is buried in the mud: the temples, the Daman tribe culture and the night ceremony the tribe tried to revive in the past few decades.

Furthermore, for the aboriginal people who have been evacuated, gaea said they will be more vulnerable.

必須面對部落分散的狀況，對原住民來說，等同另一種毀滅。

They were forced to settle in different places. Such kind of arrangement is devastating to the aboriginal people.

Village relocation and Post-Disaster Recovery Statue

Coolloud, a citizen media website, discussed about the Post-Disaster Recovery Statue《莫拉克風災重建條例》:

中央政府、縣市政府得就災區安全堪慮或違法濫建之土地，劃定特定區域，限制居住或限期強迫遷居、遷村。金惠雯批評，此條文無限擴張政府權力，完全沒有原住民參與遷村決策的機制。

The central and county government have power to decide on the land use policy in the disaster zone. They can evacuate residents by force or move the whole village to another region. Hui-Wen Jin criticized that the regulation had given the governments with unlimited power and excluded the aboriginal people from decision making process.

gaea reported that before the Post-Disaster Recovery Statue was passed

災區部落的代表與民間社團前往立院靜坐抗議…要求「強制遷村」應拿掉，以及「應取得部落同意」的訴求。

Representatives of the survivors and some civil associations protested in front of the Legislation Yuan…they asked to the legislation body to replace the principle of ‘forced village relocation' with ‘village relocation with consensus.'

coolloud discussed the possibility of reaching a consensus:

金惠雯說，遷村議題一定要回到原住民「傳統領域」的概念，讓原住民保有傳統領域，再由原民住他們選擇安居適合的遷村地址。

Hui-Wen Jin said, the discussion about village relocation should be based on the concept of ‘traditional territory' according to aboriginal culture. The aboriginal people should enjoy their rights to claim their traditional territory and decide on their settlement plan.

The government has a mortgage plan for the survivors, but kikisweets said there are still many problems for the survivors to rebuild their home.

貸款的申請期限僅僅只有一年，意味著在一年內必須要決定該在哪居住。部落的族人依舊希望能夠返回家鄉居住，然而面對消失的土地以及外界專業學者的建議，原地重建的機會渺茫，不得不向外另尋住所…嘉蘭真正需要的是實際的經濟援助，以及未來安置上的專業規劃與建議，家園失去了，族人之間的聯繫與文化是不能失去的。

The deadline for applying this mortgage is one year from now, which means the survivors have to make decision on where they want to settle within this year. Even though the aboriginal people do not want to be displaced, some of the tribes have been buried in the mud and according to experts' opinion, it is impossible for them to move back. It is inevitable that they have to settle elsewhere.…What Chialan tribe needs is financial support and professional advice on future relocation of the tribe. They have already lost their homeland, they cannot lose their culture and relation among members of the tribe.

時間一天天的過去，族人們究竟該何去何從？

Day by day, time passes by. What will be the future of the aboriginals?

Taiwan: Stories of the survivors from Typhoon Morakot

I-fan Lin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:00:02 +0000

有一個古老的傳說

人死後，變成了天上的星星，眷顧著留戀著他所深愛的人們

1999.9.21台灣中部大地震之後，夜空繁星閃爍

每顆星星的背後，都有一個令人心碎的故事

──《921安魂曲地震紀念專輯》文宣

A legend says that we will become stars after death so that we can look after our beloved ones. After the 921 Earthquake in 1999, when we see stars twinkling in the night, we know that every star has its own heart-breaking story. — Requiem for the 921 Earthquake

Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan on 8 August. The heavy rain it brought to Taiwan has caused serious damage: Hundreds of people were buried by the typhoon-spawned mudslide engulfed in Hsiaolin village. In central and southern Taiwan, thousands of people were trapped in their villages because of floods or landslides. In eastern Taiwan, houses were swept away by the rain-swollen river and thousands of people were evacuated.

Survivors from the mudslide-engulfed Hsiaolin village talked about what happened during the Typhoon:

黃金寶和九鄰壯丁從七日晚就徹夜守望，近六點時，洪水以迅雷不及掩耳之勢席捲而至，大水一下淹到腰部，黃金寶…立即高聲叫喚親友避難，四十三人中，有九位小孩、兩位中風病患、一位孕婦。逃難時，黃金寶聽到巨響…身旁的村民驚呼：「崩山啊！」整個小林社區剎那間就不見了。

Jing-Bao Huang and nine other strong men from the neighborhood kept awake over night on 7 of August. Around six in the morning (on 8 of August), the flood came suddenly and submerged everything within a few minutes. The water was to our waist level. Jing-Bao Haung…yelled out loud to his relatives to evaculate. Among the 43 people who ran out of the village, there are nine children, two patients, and one pregnant woman. When they were running out of the village, Jing-Bao Huang heard a thunder-like sound…villagers beside him shouted, ‘It's landslide!’ The whole Hsiaolin village was engulfed and disappeared.

On 11 of August, survivors from Hsiaolin villages were eager to go back and find their relatives. Sharplin, a reporter wrote in her blog:

一大早, 旗山國中早已擠滿心急如焚的家屬…小林村的家屬們好幾度在直昇機要降落時衝往操場…我問家屬怎麼了, 他們說, 是因為昨天有人答應, 要讓他們當中有人可以坐直昇機回去看, 再回來跟其他人講, 可是今天一直等一直等, 都沒人鳥他們.

In the early morning, Chishan junior high school was crowded with anxious relatives of Hsiaoling villagers…These people ran to the playground whenever a helicopter arrived…I asked them why. They said they were told that some of them could get into a helicopter and fly to the village in order to report back the situation. Nevertheless, they have waited for the whole day and no one notice them.

15 of August is the seventh day after the landslide. It is an important day for the dead in Taiwanese traditional religion. Survivors from Hsiaolin village and relatives of missing villagers returned to their village to hold religious ceremony for the dead. Avant went to Hsiaolin village with them.

站在曾經是小林村的土地上，放眼望去所有人工的東西，比如建築物的殘骸、車體零件或村民日常生活用品都看不見，就只剩下巨石、泥流和漂流木！那些電視機的聲音，人們的歌聲，講話聲都聽不到了，四周無聲，現在的小林村變成是靜的可怕死寂。

Standing at the spot where Hsiaolin village was used to be, I could not see any man-made object: no building wreckage, no car parts, and no articles for daily use. All I saw were huge rocks, mud, and driftwoods! I could not hear sounds of televisions, no singing, nor talking. Nothing. The Hsiaolin village has fallen into deadly silence.

一些罹難者的家屬拿著紙錢和香，渡過惡水回到村子祭拜不幸罹難的家屬。他們依著對面的山形，約略找出家的位置後，跪拜亡魂並聲聲呼喚：阿爸！阿母！阮ê心肝囝啊！在一片死寂，只有土石和漂流木的山谷中，他們不停的呼喊著：「阿母恁緊出來喔！」、「恁有聽著無？」、「恁緊轉來喔！」……..

Relatives of the victims walked across the rivers to go back to the village. They brought incense papers and sticks as offerings to the dead. By the landscape of the hills, they located their home. They bowed and shouted: ‘Dad!’ ‘Mom!’ ‘My beloved children!’ In the deadly quiet valley with only mud, rocks, and driftwoods, they kept calling, ‘Mom, come back to me!’ ‘Do you hear me?’ ‘Come back to me!

After this devastating typhoon, 452 riverside areas in 11 counties were announced to be in ‘red alert,’ and 328 areas in 129 villages in 12 counties were announced to be in ‘yellow alerts.’ The residents in the red-alert area should be evacuated immediately. However, not all of them were willing to leave. Chyng said:

居民說，村裡許多長者不肯撤。…我問她，居民的理由？Ｆ回答：「居民說，『親人都死了，我出去幹嘛？』」

The residents said many seniors in the villages are not willing to be evacuated…I asked her why, F told me,’ they said, “my family has gone, so why should I go?”’

In the southern Taiwan, many villages were still submerged by floods. shuchuan went to some villages there on 12 of August and reported,

走進靠海的佳冬鄉塭豐村、豔豐村，積水深及大腿，家具、碎玻璃、各式各樣的垃圾、半個人高的石斑魚漂在水面。家家戶戶堆滿汙泥，多數人都已逃離，連軍隊都進不到裡面。

When I walked into the Wenfeng and Yanfeng village in Jiadung township, which are close to the sea, water level was up to my thigh. There was furniture, glasses, different kinds of trash, and a huge Epinephelus in the water. All houses were filled with mud. Most people were gone. Even the military cannot access the villages.

入夜的林邊、佳冬空氣還有一股動物屍體夾雜汙泥、濕氣的腐臭味。多數住家已不見人影，還留下來的，戴上口罩，拿著手電筒摸黑清理家園，或聚在門前泡茶，居民鄭生生說，「大家都不敢睡啊」。

In Linbian and Jiadung township, rotten odor of dead animals and mud mixed with the evening air. Most of the people had left. People who chose to stay were cleaning up their home with a flashlight in their hands. Some were having tea in front of their house. A resident, Hseng-Hseng Chang said, ‘no one dares to sleep.’

Taitung County in eastern Taiwan was also suffered from flooding. Apophoto went to Taitung County and reported the conditions in his blog.

被沖毀的台九線和柔腸寸斷的南迴鐵路，這也中斷了太麻裡以南的所有交通，金峰、達仁、大武因此成了孤島，將近兩萬人受困其中，只能以空投物資的方式來援助居民。

The flood destroyed route nine and the railroad. Therefore, for the area south to Taimali, there was no road connecting to the outside world. Jingfeng, Daren, and Dawu were cut off from the outside world now. Those twenty thousand people trapped in these villages could only rely on the supply dropped by helicopters.

上一次的海棠颱風也曾重創嘉蘭部落，衝垮十幾戶房舍，因此這次居民已學到教訓，在溪水暴漲前，都已緊急收拾家當撤離，也因此慶幸部落並沒有太多傷亡，但被水沖走衝倒的房子，卻是很多人一生的心血，只能流著淚看它潰堤。

Jialang village was hit by Typhoon Haitang not long ago, and more than ten houses were swept away at that time. The residents learned the lesson and prepared to leave before the flood. It is fortunate that not many people were hurt this time. Nevertheless, many people have spent their life time on their houses, and now they could only watch them swept away by the swollen river with tear.

The survivors are heart-broken, so many people try to cheer them up and help them to rebuild their home. A charity concert “Sing for Home” was held in Taipei on 15 of August. Here is the lyrics of one of the song:

也許有一天　有一天能跟隨你的腳步

踏上遙遠的　回家的路

回到老家　拿回泥土

還我土地　重建家園就是我啊

Maybe someday I will follow your steps

Follow the road and go back home

Go back home and hold the earth

Hold the earth and rebuild my home.

This is me.

Taiwan: Labors protested against unemployment on Labor Day

I-fan Lin — Sat, 09 May 2009 10:24:40 +0000

Chaotang took some photos on Labor Day showing the protest against unemployment. David had an article describing why the labors gathered.

Taiwan: Preserving memories of Losheng

I-fan Lin — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:08:21 +0000

The Losheng Sanatorium was built in 1929 by Japanese government when Japan colonized Taiwan. It was originally named Rakusei Sanatorium for Lepers of Governor-General of Taiwan (台灣總督府癩病療養樂生院）. During the Japanese colonial period, leprosy patients were forced to live in the sanatorium for quarantine and treatment. Ironically, it has become their only home after all these years of isolation. However, due to the construction of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transportation, many buildings in the sanatorium were forced to be removed, and the residents dislocated.

The action of saving the Losheng Sanatorium has not been as successful as many people hoped. Many buildings in the sanatorium have been and are still being torn down. Yet, many still try very hard to keep the Losheng community together and preserve their memory of their dear home. Masao Okabe's frottage workshop is one of the initiatives.

The demolished Losheng Sanatorium. Photo courtesy of Chyng.

The Japanese frottage artist, Masao Okabe (岡部昌生; ヴェネチア・ビエンナーレ) heard the story about the Losheng Sanatorium, and he decided to hold a frottage workshop to help people preserve their memory of Losheng. The frottage workshop was held on 3/22, for the sanatorium residents and their supporters. There are a number of carry-on discussions about the workshop.

about_fish talked about what she thinks about frottage.

「你跟土地最近的距離，有多遠？」

這是我看到日本拓繪家岡部昌生創作過程的照片後，最想問自己的話。

How far is the closest distance between you and the earth?

This is the question I want to ask myself most after watching the photos that present how Japanese frottage artist, Masao Okabe, rubbing a crayon over a piece of paper.

「拓繪」是種把紙覆蓋在物質表面上，擷取歷史痕跡的藝術，要擷取土地的記憶，必須要趴下或跪下或蹲下，跟土地達到零距離的接觸，持續一段時間才能完成。整個過程，宛似宗教的虔誠，越是抱著對歷史和土地的敬意，越能吸取彼此之間的對話。

To create “frottage art,” we need to put a piece of paper on an object. This art is about recording the trace of our past and recording our memory of the earth. To do it, we must bend over, kneel down, or squat so that we can contact the earth directly for a period of time. The whole process is like a religious ritual. We must respect the history and the earth so that we can hear they speak to us.

Masao Okabe demonstrated the making of frottage art. Photo courtesy of loshengschool.

Photo courtesy of loshengschool.

In a forum held in the National Taiwan University, Masao Okabe and his fellow Japanese artist, Chihiro Minato (港千尋; みなとちひろ), talked about why they held the frottage workshop in the Losheng Sanatorium. Chihiro Minato said it is about we losing the memory of our past:

這次應邀來台，主要是為樂生院。我也想到，如果樂生院的建築都消失了，將來怎麼辦？我們社會目前記憶消失的問題很嚴重。

I was invited to Taiwan because of the Losheng Sanatorium. I wonder when the buildings of the Losheng Sanatorium disappear, do they have a future. Losing the memory of our past is a very serious problem in our society.

Masao Okabe talked about why he chooses frottage as the medium to preserve our memory:

城市宛如巨大的板木，人的生活、歷史和痕跡都在城市裡，所以想用紙張把城市的記憶拓下來。 …我對拓繪藝術最深刻的體會就是拓繪過程本身，在拓繪道路時，好像把城市的皮膚撿拾起來，藉以傳達那個城市的變化。

A city is like a gigantic wood plate, and we have carved our life, our history, and our trace on it. This is why I rub a crayon over the paper: I want to transfer our memory about the city to the paper…To me, the deepest realization is in the process. When I rub over the road on the paper, I feel like picking up the skin of the city so that I can tell others the changes happened in the city.

Annpo shared her experience of this frottage workshop.

和以往拍照不同，拓繪，是要去碰觸拓繪的物品…不可免地會細看物品，碰觸他，這個東西便和你產生了接觸的記憶關係，他便和你的生命連在一起了。而選擇拓的東西，必然是你對樂生感受深切的東西。

Creating frottage art is different from taking photos. To create frottage art, we must touch the object we want to rub over…We inevitably see the details of this object. When we touch this object, it will relate to us, and we will have a memory of it. Thus, this object relates itself to our life. The object you choose in the workshop must be the object in the Losheng Sanatorium that moves you most.

Chihiro Minato described how the sanatorium residents participated in the workshop.

今天下午我們到樂生院，跟樂生院民一起作拓繪。那裡的院民大部分都在樂生住了一輩子，對老人家來說，樂生幾乎就是他們的故鄉。…今天看到院民用蠟筆一起做拓繪，他們作過截肢的手其實不太方便，必須用失去手指的僅剩關節，小心夾住筆，再慢慢地摩擦拓繪。看到他們細心的動作，我非常感動…很像媽媽剛生小孩時，會對小孩輕輕撫摸的那種動作，這動作本身會否激起院民們很原始的情感呢？

This afternoon we went to the Losheng Sanatorium and rubbed the crayons over the paper with the sanatorium residents. They have been in the sanatorium their whole life. To them, Losheng is their home…Today, I saw them rub crayons over the paper with us. It is not comfortable for some of them whose fingers were amputated: they used the residual finger joints to hold the crayon and rub it. I was moved. Their action is like the soft touch a mother gives her newborn. Does this action evoke the residents' deep affection?

Masao Okabe talked about what he had learned from working with the sanatorium residents:

這些院民們面臨即將要失去他們故鄉的危機時，很容易了解我想要做的創作，帶著他們特有的情感去參與我的創作…我跟他們一起作拓繪，一邊聽他們講故事給我們聽，在物質之外，就會同時帶有過程中產生的新情感。

These residents face the crisis of losing their home, so they understood what I want to do instantly and joined me with their heart. We rubbed the crayons together, and they told me their stories. At the end, in addition to the substance, we have created new feelings in the process.

A sanatorium resident was watching the frottage art made in Losheng. Photo courtesy of Annpo.

In the workshop, the sanatorium residents shared their thoughts with other participants.

阿添伯細細地說，他非常仔細看了大家的作品，看大家眼中的樂生，大家拓下的記憶，不論是花草樹木石頭還是根，都和他的生命連在一起分不開了，他非常確認這是他的家，就算是剩下一顆小石頭，也是他的家。

Uncle A-Tien said, he looked at the frottage art created by all of us carefully. He wants to see how others look at Losheng and the memory people preserve. No matter it is a flower, grass, a tree, a stone, or a root, it is always connected to his life. He is very sure that this is his home. It is his home even when there is only one stone left.

A workshop participant, Annpo said her feelings were complicated because

這邊正在說明城市記憶的重要，如何以藝術記錄歷史，而傳進蓬萊舍的是轟隆隆的拆除工程聲音。

when we talked about the importance of the memory of a city and how we can use art to preserve the history, we heard the roaring sounds due to demolishing the buildings.

Uncle Lee chose the words he loves. Photo courtesy of loshengschool.

Gaea, another workshop participant, talked about how she was comforted by the frottage art created by Uncle Lee, a sanatorium residents:

我想起會長拓的「仁者無憂」。多讓人震驚與心疼。雖是控訴，但比起我們壓制不住的憤怒，他表現得如此寬容。

I remember the words uncle Lee, who is a sanatorium resident, chose to rub over: a person who has a gentle heart and loves the world does not worry. When I saw it, I was shocked, and my heart is torn. Compared to our angry and sharp accusation, his accusation is expressed so tolerantly.

More photos about the frottage workshop are online.

Taiwan: Dancing with the glass eels

I-fan Lin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 04:52:22 +0000

As an island country, Taiwan's fishing industry is an important sector, and one of the most profitable farmed fish is eel because of the Japanese market. Eels' life history had been a mystery, as they are catadromous, meaning they live part of their life in freshwater and part in saltwater. Eel larvae, leptocephalus, hatch in the open sea. After they reach an adequate size, they become glass eels and enter the headwaters of rivers. In the freshwater, they travel upstream and turn into elvers. After further transformation, they eventually reach adulthood and migrate back to the sea. There are several eel species and here we are referring to the Japanese eels, which are pricey in the restaurants.

Most discussions regarding fishery are in economic and scientific terms, we seldom get to know the life of fishermen here. Avant described the life history of eels and explained how it intertwined with fisherman's fate with a photo essay:

鰻魚的習性和鮭魚相反，在溪流生活的成年鰻魚，到了夏季繁殖期，開始降河游到幾千公里外的菲律賓和馬里亞納群島深海產卵。孵化的鰻魚苗隨著北赤道洋流向西流到菲律賓外海後，再接上北上的黑潮洋流。因此，黑潮流經的菲律賓、台灣和日本都有人在捕鰻魚苗。

The behaviors of eels and salmons are different. The adult eels live in rivers. During the reproduction season in summer, they swim downstream toward the deep sea thousands miles away (besides Philippine and the Mariana Islands) to lay their eggs. The hatched leptocephalus drift with the North Equatorial Current toward Philippine. They then drift with the Kuroshio current toward north. Therefore, we can see people in different countries catch glass eels along the way of the Kuroshio Current: Philippine, Taiwan, and Japan.

每年十月到隔年清明將近半年時間，隨著黑潮洋流北上的鰻魚苗，游到宜蘭外海，等待進入蘭陽溪等溪流上游生長。於此同時，也有一批散居基隆、瑞芳、三峽、樹林、三鶯部落等地的花東原住民，追隨鰻魚苗蹤跡，遷移到蘭陽溪出海口。在這半年的扒鰻魚苗季節中，他們在海灘上搭起簡易的帆布工寮，住下來，扒鰻魚。

From October to April, for about half year, these glass eels drifting with the Kuroshio current arrive Yilan, Taiwan and prepare to swim to the upstream of some rivers, including the Lang-Yang river. At the same time, some aboriginal Taiwanese (whose ancestors live in the eastern Taiwan) leave their home in Keelong, Rueifang, Sanshia, Shulin, and Sanyin for the outlet of the Lang-Yang river. They are after the glass eels. In the half-year glass-eel-catching season, they set up temporary canvas tents at the beach so that they can live there and catch the glass eels.

Photo courtesy of Avant.

鰻線，入夜後伺機游進溪流生長。而這也是扒鰻魚苗人最忙碌的時刻，天黑後，他們拖著漁網等待著要遊進河口的鰻魚苗。

Glass eels swim into the river at night. Thus glass-eel fishermen are busiest at night. After dark, they drag nets and wait for these glass eels swimming into the outlet of the river.

Photo courtesy of Avant.

Avant explained why fishermen look for glass eels.

鰻魚苗價格好時，一尾上看50元，運氣好的漁民一晚可以賺上一兩萬元，因此有人說鰻魚苗是「軟黃金」！

When the glass-eel market is hot, one glass eel is worth NTD 50. Fishermen who are lucky can earn ten to twenty thousand dollars in one day. Therefore, some people called glass eels “bio-gold.”

Avant talked about how the price of glass eels influences the fishermen.

鰻魚苗價錢高時，漆黑的海面上盡是扒鰻魚苗人的黑影，海灘上也有數不盡的點點燈火與天上的星星相輝映，賣麵食的，賣麵包的甚至賣羊肉爐的攤車直接開到海灘上，像夜市那樣的熱鬧！可是俗稱軟黃金的鰻魚苗價格卻是暴起暴落，有時甚至降到只剩下8元一尾！

When the price of glass eels is high, you can see tons of fishermen in the sea. There would be countless lights at the beach shinning with stars in the sky–lights for the vendors that sell noodles, bread, and even lamb-stew. Thus the beach becomes lively like a night market. However, the price of glass eels varies a lot. Sometimes one glass eel is only worth NTD 8!

Photo courtesy of Avant.

鰻魚苗價錢高，大家下海大撈一筆這是可以理解的，可是價錢掉到只剩下8塊錢一尾，卻不得不下海扒鰻魚苗，生活的清苦不難想像。

When the price of glass eels is high, it is understood that many people will jump into the sea for them. However, when a glass eel only worth NTD 8, we can imagine what a difficult life the glass-eel fishermen are when they need to go into the sea for the damn cheap glass eels.

宋惠萍本來在樹林一家工廠工作，去年十一月失業後，來到蘭陽溪口和爸爸、媽媽、姐姐和姐夫一起住，順便幫忙扒鰻魚苗。她的爸爸和姐姐輪番下海扒鰻魚苗，她和媽媽在海灘上，從撈起的泥沙中挑出鰻魚苗。

Hui-Ping Sung used to work in a factory in Shulin. Becoming unemployed last November, she came to the outlet of the Lang-Yang river to live with her parents and her sister's family and help pick glass eels. Her father and sister take turns to go to the sea to catch glass eels, and she and her mother at the beach pick glass eels out of sands.

一家人工作一整晚，所得不到一百塊錢。宋惠萍的姐夫說，你要是看到大家都在海灘上喝酒，那就表示海裡沒有鰻魚苗可以抓啦！

Their family had worked for the whole night, but they only earned less than NTD 100. Hui-Ping Sung's brother-in-law said that if you see all the fishermen having a drink at the beach, you can say there is no glass eels in the sea.

There is also risk for catching glass eels in the sea. A fisherman Avant talked to said:

今年的扒鰻魚苗季，在蘭陽溪出海口就已經有一位被潮水拖走。

In the outlet of the Lany-Yang river, there have been one fisherman towed away by the tide since this glass-eel season have began.

阿將，年輕的宜蘭五結鄉人，最近因為沒有工作而到海邊扒鰻魚苗。他總是要先喝一口酒再下海扒鰻苗。他說他的一位朋友前陣子差點也被潮水拖走。那一晚他的朋友的魚衫褲不慎被海水灌進去，整個人像是被灌飽的氣球，站不住也動彈不得。接著整個人就被潮水拖走了！在駭浪之中，他機警的脫掉魚衫褲，脫的只剩下一條內褲，才得以游回來保住一條命。

A-Chuang, a young man from Wujie, Yilan, began to catch glass eels these days because of unemployment. He always has a drink of liquor before going into the sea. He said recently one of his friends was towed away by the tide because the pants were filled with water, similar to a balloon filled with air. If his friend did not take off the pants quickly, he could be dead already. When his friend swam back, he only wore his underpants.

Photo courtesy of Avant.

這些像牙籤棒大小，全身晶瑩剔透的玻璃鰻在海中等待變態成鰻線。

These toothpick-size, transparent glass eels in the sea are waiting to become elvers.

Avant talked about why he wanted to go to the beach and how he felt after talking to some fishermen:

“我從來沒有在夜間跑到海灘上的經驗，面對著無邊無際的黯黑，聽著看不見的海嘲的巨吼，很奇妙的感受，老實說，覺得很可怕！更難以想像的是，竟然有那麼多人在這樣的環境下討生活。”

“I have never been at the beach at night. I had a cold feet when surrounded by the endless darkness and the roaring tides. It is hard for me to imagine that there are so many people trying to make a living in this kind of environment.”

“強烈冷氣團來襲，在家裡溫暖而柔合的燈光下，和家人喝茶聊天或是窩在暖暖的被窩中睡覺是多麼幸福的事，可是，卻有一些人在在這樣惡劣的天候中，在一波波海潮中討生活。”

“When the cold air mass attacks, we are blessed to have a cup of hot tea and chat with our family in the warm and luminous living room or sleep on the beds. However, there are some people working outside in this harsh weather, who tries to make a living in the never-stopping tides.”

“那樣的落差實在太強烈了，強烈到我也想在這樣淒冷的夜晚，浪裡來浪裡去，倒底是怎麼樣的感受？”

“The strong contrast makes me wonder how it feels to fight with the tides at the cold, gloomy night.”

Like most of the fishing industry, eel farming also results in environmental problems, such as water shortage and land sinkage caused by the heavy extraction of groundwater. However, eel-farming is driven by the market. seafood pointed out why eel farming relies on glass-eel fishery heavily:

鰻魚是高經濟魚種，但是其魚苗來源，則全靠野生捕撈，目前尚無法完全養殖與育種。

Eels are expensive, but the glass eels are all from the sea. So far, we cannot hatch eel larvae and rear them in an artificial environment.

In fact, the population of the Japanese eels, along with the population of anguillid eels (fresh water eels) worldwide, have declined drastically in recent years (via Wikipedia). This is presumably due to changing water conditions, interfering with spawning and the transport of eel larvae (via Wikipedia). Latest technology seems to be able to reduce the environmental impact of glass eel fishery, as some Japanese biologists claimed that they have successfully rear eel larvae to glass-eel.

Taiwan environmentalists clash with police over old camphor tree

I-fan Lin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:06:54 +0000

David reported that a Green Party candidate, Calvin Wen (溫炳原), spent 26 hours in a camphor tree on the site of the Old Songshan Tobacco Factory (松山菸廠) in Taipei to protest and prevent its removal because of a new sports stadium. His photos reporting the Green Party protest are at flickr.

Taiwan: Prepare for the Lunar New Year

I-fan Lin — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:14:02 +0000

The Lunar New Year is right at the corner. The Lunar New Year is an important holiday for family members and friends to get together in Taiwan. To prepare the food and the mood, people like to go shopping before the Lunar New Year. chensumi showed us what she saw when she went to several traditional markets in Taipei.

Taiwan: Organic farming in Taiwan

I-fan Lin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:45:01 +0000

In Taiwan, more and more farmers adopt organic farming methods, from rice to vegetables, from fruits to roses, and from tea to coffee. These farmers use blogs to support each other and sell their products.

“Organic” is not as easy as it looks. One farmer told the story of their organic rose farm:

首先，土地必需休耕三年以上，栽種時不使用任何農藥及化學肥料，並以天然有機質及有機堆肥滋養土壤…必須定時調配辣椒水，適時驅趕這些「客人」；為了不使用除草劑，只好拿起鐮刀，一株一株地割除，用勞力及時間換取玫瑰生長的空間。

First, we left the land fallow for more than three years. When we plant the roses, we cannot use any pesticide or chemical fertilizer. We need to fertilize the soil with natural ingredients…(we) need to make hot pepper water regularly and use it to expel the “guests” (spiders and caterpillars)…Because no pesticide is used, (we) need to use sickle to cut the weeds one stem after another. It takes labor and time to earn a space for these roses to grow.

If the rose farmers give up these efforts,

成群結隊的蚜蟲、毛毛蟲、蜘蛛等，攀附在玫瑰花上愉悅地享受大餐；宛若流寇的雜草大軍，淹沒了寶貴的玫瑰花田；讓人無力抵擋的白粉病及黑點病，一點一點占據玫瑰葉片…。

there will be throngs of aphids, caterpillars, spiders, and etc. They will have their supper on roses happily. There will be troupes of weeds submerging the precious rose farm. The leaves of roses will be occupied inevitably by powdery mildew and melanose.

Photo courtesy of justeating

There are many other organic farming methods. For example, growing rice with ducks. One of the farmers adopting this method explained:

鴨子的工作量有限。平均來說，通常一分地大小的稻田需要放養二十隻鴨子，才能夠有效的去除雜草與害蟲…插秧七天後，就要自宜蘭買回剛孵出的鴨子，養十天再放入田中適應環境，然後依著作息讓鴨子工作，白晝放養，昏夜圈養。插秧約八十天後，稻子開始抽穗時，趕緊將鴨子趕回水塘圈養，強制鴨子退休，不能再下田啦！

The workload of a duck is limited. For a farm as large as 0.1 hectare, the farmers need 20 ducks to get rid of weeds and pests efficiently…Seven days after transplanting rice seedlings, we need to buy just-hatching ducks from Yilan County. After raising the ducks for ten days, we put them in the farms and let them familiarize themselves with the environment. When ducks “work,” their schedule is based on their habits: walking and eating in the farm during the daytime and going back after dark. About 80 days after transplanting rice seedlings, when the ear of rice is growing, we bring the ducks back to the pond and raise them there. The ducks are forced to retire and cannot work in the farm anymore.

Although the material rewards may not pay for the farmers' efforts, they try to keep their spirits high. Green-Mom talked about the snails in their farms,

越乾淨的土地 , 就有越多的蝸牛 ~說到蝸牛 ~ 真的讓人恨的牙癢癢 , 前一天才種下的菜苗 , 隔天早上通通不見蹤影 …媽媽拿著手電筒道菜園查看 ~終於找到兇手 ~ 就是他 …..蝸牛

記得 ~ 以前只要下雨天 , 姐弟就會拿著籃子撿蝸牛去 ~ 回來一陣敲敲打打 ~ 再用木頭灰燼又搓又洗 ~ 晚餐就有炒蝸牛可吃。現在要吃炒野生蝸牛少之又少 , 如果有也貴的嚇人。乾脆通通抓起來 , 養他一陣子就有炒蝸牛可以吃。嗯 ! 這主意好像還不錯 ~

The healthier a land is, more snails there are. Talking about snails, they are so hatable. The vegetable seedlings planted today disappear tomorrow…Mom checked the farm with a flashlight in the evening, and she found the murderer—it is him, the snail.

I remember that several years ago, my brother and I would bring a basket to the farm to pick up snails in rainy days. After knocking and washing them with wood ashes, we would have fried snails as dinner. It is hard to find fried wild-caught snails nowadays. If you find one, it is very expensive. I propose that we pick these snails up and raise them for a few days, and then we will have fried snails. Hmmm, I think this is a good idea.

Another farmer talked about voles in their sweet potato farm with humor,

就怕田鼠囂張，不待我們挖起便啃得蕃薯體無完膚。待可以讓好友們來蕃薯田玩時，還請大家與我們一起來參加「打地鼠」的遊戲，把這些肥滋滋的田鼠扭送法辦吧。

We are afraid that these voles are too audacious to eat the sweet potatoes before harvest. When it is allowed to invite our friends to the sweet potato farm, I pledge you to join the “catching-voles” game and bring these fat voles to justice.

There is always a story behind an organic farm. In 1999, there was an earthquake in Taiwan, measured 7.3 on the Richter scale. Many people in ChungLiao, one of the devastated areas due to the earthquake, have been working together to revive the community. They set up “Befarmer” in 2003, which provides organic fruits.

Due to the same earthquake, FriendshipCITW started to work with aboriginal people in Taichung Daan River (L’liung penux in Atayal) area to set up a co-op kitchen and sell organic agriculture products.

Many organic farmers in Taiwan have difficulty to sell their products. Some of them hold a market and sell their products together. They also hold lectures for learning together. Hopemarket is one of these organizations, in which there is a special connection between the farmers and their consumers. youngsing said,

在合樸市集所結識的消費者，也常會來電鼓勵打氣…希望消費者與我們不單只是買與賣的商業行為，也可以吃到我們用心的產品，進而可以分享我們製作的過程和品嘗後的意見。這是我們最期待的。

The consumers we meet in the Hopemarket call us to cheer us up frequently…I hope the interaction between consumers and us is not only buying and selling. I hope the consumers can eat the food we prepare cordially. Furthermore, I hope that we can share the process of preparation with them and they can share their comments with us after eating. This is what we want most.

When choosing organic farming methods, some farmers focus on preserving native species and creating values for these native species. For example, the native guava, which has very rich flavor but is small and not sweet enough for nowadays consumers. Although the native guava is not popular on fresh-fruit market, with some imagination, it was found to be an important ingredient for making charming desserts.

Photo courtesy of justeating

Sometimes, growing these native species needs not only imagination but also experience. For example, a farmer claimed that finding the winter bamboo shoots in his mountains is as difficult as finding truffe in France. The difference is, French people use pigs to find the truffe, and Taiwanese farmers find the winter bamboo shoots by their own experience. One experienced farmer said,

沒經驗的人想找到冬筍可不容易。…產冬筍的孟宗竹不會聚在一起，每根竹子間的距離較大，生長竹筍的地下莖走向沒有一定規則，有時筍子會出現在距離母竹很遠的地方；如果當季缺水，就算翻遍山頭也找不到一根筍子。

It is not easy for a naive person to find the winter bamboo shoots…These Moso bamboos do not grow together. The interval between them is large. Their underground stems grow irregularly. Sometimes the shoots appear in some place far away from their mother. If we do not have enough water in this season, we will not find any shoot in a mountain.

Photo courtesy of justeating

At the end of the day, organic farming methods not only change how the farmers work but also change how the farmers view their work. sioong said,

曾經以為，農夫的工作就是種稻，現在才慢慢體會，農夫在不知不覺中種下的，是自己的心。…我們是最瞭解她的人，因為我們的心跟這片土地的距離，最近。

I used to think that farmers' job is to grow rice. Now I realize that what we have planted without notice is our heart…We are the one who know the land best, because the distance between our heart and her is shortest.

Taiwan: The government could not wait to harvest wild strawberries

I-fan Lin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:57:34 +0000

The forced eviction of Wild Strawberries Movement at the Freedom Square this morning (Dec 11), just a few hours after the International Human Rights Day, shows the Taiwan government's hypocrisy in the implementation of human rights .

On International Human Rights Day (12/10), Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou asked the Legislature to give endorsement to two international human rights documents (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) to help implement human rights protection in Taiwan. The speech was made in Asian Democracy and Human Rights Award, an annual event organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.

However, four hours after the International Human Rights Day, police surrounded the protesters gathering in the Freedom Square and forced them to leave, including the student sit-in (Wild Strawberry Movement) and Taiwan Friends of Tibet.

The students has protested police brutality during Chen Yun-lin (陳雲林)'s visit to Taiwan and asked to revise the Parade and Assembly Law since 11/6. More students advocated this protest and started sit-in in Hsinchu, Taichung, Chia-Yi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung.

monika joined the sit-in and told her parents

老師們也都連署聲援學生的訴求，加入廣場上的靜坐，我們一起討論著人權的概念、討論甚麼叫做暴力、自由，我們對於台灣社會都有著美好圖像的期待。我們渴望一個自由、民主成熟的公民社會，這個社會人人可以理性和平地表達意見，人與人能夠互相尊重、聆聽不同的意見，前提就在於我們必須肯認言論自由作為憲法的最高價值在公民社會的落實。於是我們選擇坐在那裏，表達我們的意見，也渴望被理解、被聽見。

Our professors signed the petition to support the students and joined the sit-in. We discuss the concept of human rights and what is violence and freedom. We all have a bright vision for Taiwan society. We yearn for a civil society embracing freedom and mature democracy. In this society, we can convey our opinions rationally and peacefully. In this society, we respect each other and listen to different opinions. The presupposition of this civil society is to recognize that freedom of speech is the highest value and protected by the Constitution. As a result, we choose to sit there, express our thoughts, and hope to be understood and heard.

Photo courtesy of oj

These sit-in students called their protest as “Wild Strawberry Movement.” sabinasun went to the sit-in and was amazed by what she saw:

這回野草莓有許多結合科技和創意的表現，包括自寫自唱〈野草莓之歌〉，靈活運用網路科技做現場雙語即時轉播，豐富多樣的街頭劇場表演，把抗議當作遊戲，把口號變成體操，甚至把一個本來是負面意義的「草莓」以KUSO形式轉變為自我認同符碼等。這一代的養成雖像草莓般稚嫩，但看著學著解嚴後公民社會各式各樣的街頭組織和集體行動，也意外早熟地蔓生起來。

These “wild strawberries” combine technology and creativity, including writing and singing their own “Song for Wild Strawberries,” using internet technology to broadcast their activities bilingually, and holding diverse theater performance on street. They transform protest to games and transform slogans to sports. They even transform the word “strawberry,” which originally has a negative meaning, to self-identification in a funny way. These young and tender students are raised like strawberries, but they grow up and spread out when they see and learn the activists' organizations and actions after the martial law was abolished, out of our surprise.

During students' sit-in, other protesters joined them, including original inhabitants of Sanying Aboriginal Community who were forcibly moved away from their homes. When police arrived at the Freedom Square at 3am on 12/11, about 100 Tibetans from Taiwan Friends of Tibet were also there to protest about their legal identity.

wenli received a phone call soon after the policemen surrounded the protesters.

當我到達自由廣場時，第一批被驅離的圖博之友會人士，已經被全部載上警備車。警方刻意將這些大多不熟悉台北路況的圖博人，在深夜裡載往大湖公園或關渡等地「二次流亡」。圖博人沒有抵抗，只有懂得中文的人絕望地呼喊「馬英九總統，救救圖博」。後來在現場警察的說法：「如果不是你們（指野草莓）幫助他們，我們也不會去抬他們（指圖博人士）！」，也明示了野草莓運動與圖博訴求的結合，是今晨展開鎮壓行動的主因之一。

除了現場大約還有二三十名學生，以廣場地標草莓塔為中心，被數百名警察四面包圍之外，帳篷與物資堆積處已經被拆除，物資也散落一地。沒有被包圍住的學生，急迫地將重要的物資如發電機和電腦等等撤離到外圍路邊。而大部分的佈置物不是被卡車拖走，便是雜亂地堆積在一起等待清潔隊來處理。零星的學生一個個地將可用的物資盡量地搶救出來。

When I arrived at the Freedom Square, people from Taiwan Friends of Tibet were already brought away by the police trucks. The police “exiled” these Tibetans, who are not familiar with the geography of Taipei, to DaHu Park or GuanDu. Those Tibetans did not resist. Only some of them who speak Chinese called out “President Ma Ying-jeou, save Tibet.” Later, some policemen on the Freedom Squares told the sit-in students, “if you (Wild Strawberries) did not help them, we would not remove them (Tibetans)!” Their words tell us explicitly that the collaboration between the Wild Strawberry Movement and Tibetans is one important reason for the police to take this repression action this morning.

Hundreds of policemen surrounded 20-30 students gathering around the Strawberry Tower, the landmark there. Beside them, tents and the shelters for supplies were torn down, and some supplies fell on the floor. Some students, who were not surrounded by the policemen, tried to move some important supplies, e.g. generators and computers, to roadside. Most decorations were brought away by trucks or left on the floor and waited for the cleaners. Some students tried their best to rescue useful materials.

Photo courtesy of action1106

Students who were brought away from the Freedom Square came back three hours later. Some Tibetans who were brought away also came back later, and Taiwan Friends of Tibet is trying to find others. wenli said,

或許政府可以將草莓塔化為一捆竹竿和布條堆積而成的瓦礫；或許警察可以將帳篷解體成鐵條和帆布的殘餘；或許這些物質上的損失，會成為現場指揮官升遷敘獎的依據；但是，野草莓運動本身沒有受到任何傷害，反而會因為這次卑劣的夜襲行為，而更加凝聚了運動的向心力。因為，人的精神和尊嚴，才是學生們運動的主體，而這是不可能通過物理手段加以損毀的。

Maybe the government can tear down the Strawberry Tower and leave piles of bamboos and banners; maybe the police can take apart the tents and leave piles of iron columns and canvas; maybe these material damage will be the evidence for the police commander's next promotion; However, the Wild Strawberry Movement is not hurt at all. On the contrast, this movement will gain stronger centripetal force because of this despicable midnight attack. The soul of this students' protest is human spirit and dignity, which will not be hurt through physical means.

附帶一提，警方驅離的理由之一，是以交通法規將野草莓運動視為路障來處理。然而，幾個小時當中，真正行駛在廣場上的車輛，也只有警方清運的卡車而已。對這個在世界人權日結束後四小時，便扯下偽善面具，露出猙獰面目的政權來說，人權不過是形同具文的兩個字而已。它可以用於光鮮亮麗的頒獎典禮上，卻不允許在公共的廣場上被呼喊。

By the way, one of the reasons for this police action is cleaning the roadblack, i.e., the Wild Strawberry Movement, based on the Traffic Law. However, for hours, only the trucks instructed by the police ran on the square.

To the government who took down its hypocritical mask and showed us its ferocious look four hours after the International Human Rights Day, human rights are only two words without any meaning. These two words are allowed to be used in a fabulous award ceremony but not allowed to be called out on a public square.

Taiwanese version of Thanksgiving

I-fan Lin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 07:38:18 +0000

Seeing Americans have Thanksgiving holidays, Alanruo tries to search for similar festival in Taiwan and finds a similar counterpart, the Well-beings sacrifice:

每年農曆十月十五前後，台灣的許多庄頭都會舉行歲末的平安祭，俗稱謝平安或拜平安。拜平安的對象是天公，謝天公其實就是表達對過去一年所有事業家庭進步的感謝，我認為這實實在在就是台灣的感恩節。

Each year at around the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month (around November 15th in Gregorian calendar), many villages in Taiwan would hold the Well-beings sacrifice (平安醮), also known as xiepingan (謝平安) or baipingan (拜平安). The purpose of the xiepingan sacrifice is to express one's gratitude towards the Lord of Heaven, who guards and speeds one's business and family. I argue that this is indeed the Thanksgiving Day of Taiwan.

Below are some photos that show how the Taiwanese-version Thanksgiving looks like.

In some villages, people would jointly organize a three to seven day long Well-beings sacrifice to express their thanks to the deities and spirits who had protected them from ill-luck in the past year. Below is a picture showing the beautiful altar set up for the Taoist priests to perform a ritual.

Photo courtesy of alhorn

This Well-beings sacrifice is not only for deities but also for ghosts, and the bamboo poles with flags in the following picture are erected several days before the ritual to catch the spirits' attention for the ceremony.

Photo courtesy of Alanruo

Alanruo explained the ritualistic function of the grass inside the bucket:

也不能忘記給甲兵秣馬用的草料

We cannot forget the forage for gods' horses.

Photo courtesy of Alanruo

Big pigs are presented as sacrifices.

Photo courtesy of alhorn

There is “real” food for deities, ghosts, and humans, and there is “symbolic” food for deities and ghosts.

Photo courtesy of Alanruo

Time has changed and so do items presented in the ceremony. The tradition keeps renovating–Alanruo discovered some new offer items:

糖果屋有什麼了不起，王子麵屋也很酷

What's the big deal about the candy house? This house made of packs of instant noodles is cool, too.

Photo courtesy of Alanruo

Because there are so much food and so many ghosts, it is important to have Master Dashi (Dashihye, 大士爺), an underworld deity, standing by the tables to make sure that food for the ghosts is evenly distributed.

Photo courtesy of alhorn

In the evenings, there are troupe performance or movie show to entertain spirits and human. At the end of the Well-beings sacrifice, the taoist priests would thank gods again and give blessing to the guests.

Taiwan: At the Protest Frontline

I-fan Lin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:24:29 +0000

It seems that many people, especially if you are outside Taiwan, found the recent protest against Chen Yinlin in Taipei confusing. Bob pointed out that in China, some incidents in the protest were interpreted as democratic violence. Such impression is probably a result of the mainstream media report on the violent scene. You may want to ask what had happened during this long day, Nov 6th? Why did so many people decide to demonstrate in the street? How did the violence happen? Let's take a closer look at and listen to these protesters.

aswing explained why protest:

很多人問我，除了上街頭，難道沒有更「理性」的方法來反應民眾和在野黨的情緒嗎？我必須反問這些人，可以作在冷氣房表決，誰願意冒著被警察痛毆的風險上街頭？如果馬英九覺得自己勝了，就是人民對兩岸政策已經作了抉擇，他就可以為所欲為，那麼他有沒有把自己當作全民的總統呢？嘗言民主政治是多數決，但國民黨這半年來的粗暴做法，身為少數，並沒有任何被尊重的感覺。…當在野黨重新回到街頭，其實意味著民主正在倒退。

Many people asked me why don't we choose a more “rational” way to express our emotion and the opposition party's position than protesting on the street? I would ask these people: if we can vote in an air-conditioned room, who wants to protest on the street and take the risk of facing police violence? If Ma Ying-Jeou thinks he can do whatever he wants to do regarding Taiwan-China relationship because he won the presidential election, he fails to be a responsible president for all citizens? We know that democracy is majority-ruled. However, from what the Kuomintang have done in the past half year, I, as the minority, do not feel I am respected…When the opposition party needs to protest on the street again, we know that our democracy is degrading.

Photo courtesy of kajin.

The government's overreaction in “protecting” Chen Yunlin and the police action in harassing the protesters had agitated more people to join the protest on 11/6.

Bo-Yu's mother arrived early.

有幾位因為前一晚參加過晶華那一場,比較有經驗,會提醒我們不要把絲帶繫在身體,說警察會直接扯絲帶,我也幫身旁的老先生老太太重新把絲帶綁在帽子背包上.

Some protesters who had joined the protest yesterday at Grand Formosa Regent Taipei reminded me not to tie the yellow ribbon on my body, because the police would pull the ribbon. I helped the elders beside me to tie the ribbons on their hats or backpacks.

Photo courtesy of judie.

Protester harnyi was shocked when she arrived at the gathering location:

新聞中才能看到的恐怖畫面就這麼活生生的在眼前：數十位警察分別站在捷運出口兩邊，放眼望去都是拒馬，而陣陣的汽笛聲、喇叭聲、呼口號聲傳來，一股肅殺之氣瀰漫在空氣中。

The terrible scene shown on the television was right in front of me: dozens of policemen stood at the exit of the Mass Rapid Transit. There were barricades everywhere and sounds of airhorns, horns and slogans were echoing in the air, as if a bloody battle was about to happen.

obs noticed that the barricades didn't leave enough room for the protesters to move around.

從拒馬在中山南路的架設方式，就知道圍城行動控制不易。跑街頭運動那麼多年，沒看過這種ㄇ字型的陣仗，人群稍多就推倒了。

From the setup of the barricades on Zhongshan N. Rd, we could imagine that the protest would not be easy to control. I have attended protests for several years, but I have never seen such “ㄇ” shape before. These barricades were easily to be pushed over when the number of the protesters increased.

Most of the protest was peaceful, harnyi reported:

這個頭綁黃絲帶的先生很可愛，沿路一直叫大家踩這面旗子，他說：踩一踩，把氣出一出就算了。對呀，誰說民進黨的支持都是暴民，我們用自己的方式來宣洩情緒，幽默，沒害人。

This person with the yellow ribbon on his head was cute. He asked us to step on this flag. He said, “step on it and expel your anger, and then let it go.” Well, who said the supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party are rioters? We have our way to release our anger, which is humorous and harmless.

Photo courtesy of judie.

She disagreed with what was reported on the mainstream media later about their protest.

景福門那邊的確有一點衝突，可是，那不過是佔整個遊行人數的幾萬分之一，回家後看了新聞，在攝影機選擇性的鏡頭下，”暴動”竟然成了整個圍城活動的唯一主軸，這就是我們誇張的媒體生態，唉……

There were some incidents at Jingfumen (景福門) . However, they only represented one of tens of thousands protesters. I came home and watched the television. Under the selective camera, “riot” became the only focus of today's protest. This is the ecology of our media. Sigh…

The Democratic Progressive Party claimed to end the protest at around 6pm, but some protesters kept going to the Grand hotel, where Chen Yunlin stayed. dayinfu joined the protest there. She described:

幾個外國友人, 拿布條到現場, 鼓舞現場的士氣。現場人來人往, 所以, 18:30~~22:30之間, 人數似乎沒什麼增減…我猜約在6、700之數。

Several foreign friends brought ribbons to us and cheered us up. There were people going and people coming, so the number of the protesters did not change a lot from 18:30 to 22:30…I guess there were 600-700 protesters there.

dayinfu left at 10:30pm, and she saw the incidents occur on the media after she came back home.

後來三台指揮車一一離去(約20:00左右, 我猜), 只剩群眾在原地繼續喊口號/汽笛發洩不滿。約22:30, 我們覺得再待下去, 大概沒有什麼進一步的發展, 就先行離開回家。一到家才從新聞中得知警察暴動, 攻擊人民。

Later the three protest trucks left (around 20:00, I guess), but some protesters stayed and continued to express anger with slogan and airhorns. At around 22:30, we felt that there would not be any new development and decided to go home. When I came home, I saw the news and learned that the police had launch attack at the people there.

a-gu described these following incidents and said both some protesters and the police were way over the line.

At one point in the afternoon the crowd suspected a man in a black shirt of being a gangster sent to make trouble or a police spy sent to collect information. They beat him up pretty bad and ripped his shirt off, presumably to see if he was wearing a wire…The second incident was the molotov cocktail thrown last night at the scuffle near the Grand Hotel. Could have very seriously injured a number of police officers and scared them for life. Maybe even kill somebody. Not cool.

On the other hand, the police were not the picture of calm law and order either. Some of the riot police were really unnecessarily violent with their billy clubs, really ripping on guys who were running away and who the police had no intention of actually arresting or anything.

I also had a friend who stayed until the end of the protest at the Grand hotel last night…I asked if the police were being reasonable or crossing the line, and he thinks the latter.

Yuglory left just before this incident.

我也很不諒解DPP把人丟了就走了，那天看了現場，就知道晚一點會出事，所以我10點多就拉了朋友走了，他們也都不清楚事情的危險性
後來跟一些朋友討論，大家對DPP當然不滿，對這些政客也是無言，但我們也認為，以那天的情況，那天就算要把群眾帶走也帶不走的，民怨真的很深，人民的憤怒是很清楚的.

I disapprove that the Democratic Progressive Party left protesters like that. I saw the condition and knew there would be trouble, so at about 10pm I left with my friends, who were not aware of how dangerous it might be.
Later I discussed with some friends. Of course we were not happy with the Democratic Progressive Party and those politicians. However, we thought from what we saw, it was very difficult to brought those protesters away. They were so angry, which is very obvious.

Some people were not happy with the violence:

群眾暴力丟擲棍棒、石塊，導致多起流血暴力衝突，這些活動有何實質意義？儼然形成群眾發洩的一個大舞台，不和平不理性。

These people threw rods and stones violently and caused several bloody violent incidents. What's the meaning of these activities? It became a big stage for people to express their anger. It is not peaceful, and it is not rational.

On the other hand, baladaily stated that what happened in the past few days was a culmination process of the confrontation between the protesters and police.

Citizens do not spontaneously become violent - and while there are always people in any demonstration who simply seek to cause chaos, they are vastly outnumbered by ordinary citizens who simply wish to express their dissent. It is only when those in power seek to use their authority to silence dissenting voices that good people may feel that they have little recourse. Successive administrations from both parties have been loath to relinquish the promise of almost unlimited authority offered by the current Parade and Assembly Law. What we saw over the last two days is simply the culmination of that process. The government could not resist the temptation to overstep their bounds far beyond what was required for public safety, and ended up facing the inevitable backlash.

Knowing that the decision of inviting Chen Yunlin to Taiwan was decided by the ruling party itself, jjw543 was disappointed with the ruling party due to what happened.

我難過是在於為什麼執政黨明知這種事的敏感性，為何不能事先與在野黨協調出最大共識？一意孤行，700多萬票是民意，500多萬票就不是民意？
即便少數要服從多數，也不代表多數意見就能完全漠視少數人意見一意孤行，更何況這個所謂的少數其實並不少，多數也沒多到那裡去，再者，投你一票的人也未必完全認同急速向中國靠攏主張…

I am sad because the ruling party should know how sensitive this event is. Why couldn't they discuss with the opposition party beforehand? Why did they decide what to do only by themselves? If seven million votes show public opinion, how can you say five million votes do not show public opinion?
Even if we decide that the majority rules, it does not mean that the majority should ignore the opinions of the minority and do whatever they want. Besides, the so-called minority is not a small number, and the so-called majority is not a very large number. In addition, people who voted for you may not agree to draw close to China in such a rapid pace.

At the end of the day, obs concluded that:

在這樣的時刻，重要的不是國旗、不是標語，甚至圍不圍城也已無關緊要。
　但，相信民主相信自由相信多元的每個人，都應該以自己的方式發聲。
　一個警棍伺候的城市，不會有和解。
　一個哀傷死寂的社會，不會有進步。
　一個人民不再吶喊的國度，不會有明天。
　不為任何政黨，不為任何人，此刻我們應該為自己說話。

At this moment, what is important is not the national flag, not the the slogans, even not besieging the city.
What is important is that everyone who believes democracy, freedom, and diversity should voice in our own way.
There will be no peace if the city is monitored by the policemen's rods.
There will be no progress is the society is sad and silent.
There will be no tomorrow if citizens in the country stop shouting.
Not for any political party. Not for anyone. This is the moment that we should voice for ourselves.

Photo courtesy of avant.

Taiwan: Students Demand to Revise the Parade and Assembly Law!

I-fan Lin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:20:25 +0000

About 500 students gathered peacefully in front of the Executive Yuan on 11/6 to protest against the current Parade and Assembly Law (集會遊行法). The government abusive use of the law has violated people's rights in protest in the past few days during the visit of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chair Chen Yunlin. To prevent the return of a police state, the students demanded the government to apologize and amend the law in their open statement.

baladaily explained what in the Parade and Assembly Law needs to be revised:

The current law restricts the right of citizens to peaceably assemble, by forcing them to apply for permits which the government may deny at will after reviewing the protest topic, allows the government unrestricted rights to close off large areas from protesters, and allows police to forcibly disperse protesters even if they are not violent. The students are demanding the law be revised to require the government to grant permits upon receiving an application without the current content review (”government shall grant a permit” vs. the current “government may grant a permit”), while requiring police to follow the rule of law and due process in all arrests and detentions. In other words, the law should protect the rights of protesters - not restrict them.

Photo courtesy of judie.
Banner said: Revise the Parade and Assembly Law. President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan must publicly apologize to all citizens.

Seeing how this sit-in was organized, David was impressed.

I was so impressed to see the students staging such a well organised, democratic and peaceful protest. Members of NGOs held a press conference discussing to talk about problems with the Assembly Law. A student got up with a guitar and sang songs. Several university professors came in support and one gave a long speech talking about his experiences of the Assembly Law from the days of martial law and the early years of the democratic era. Donations of water and food piled up. There was also a media centre distributing information and broadcasting the protest online. One aspect of the protest was that the students maintained political neutrality. They wore black shirts and removed any partisan political symbols.

judie reported the failure of negotiation between the government and students:

經過一夜堅守後， 11月7日上午行政院派出秘書長薛香川前往溝通，現場學生陸續提問，對薛的回答感到相當不滿意，決議繼續靜坐。不久傳出下午將會遭到驅離的訊息。

After the one-night sit-in, in the morning of 7th (Nov), Steve Hsueh, the Cabinet Secretary-General, was assigned to communicate with the students. The students asked him some questions, disappointed with his answers and decided to carry on their sit-in. Later, people heard that the police was ordered to remove them in the afternoon.

baladaily described how the police took action to remove the students:

At 4PM, three large police buses pulled up in the street behind the protesters, with squads of police officers emerging. “Remember!” the organizers shouted: “No violence! It is not the fault of the police that their orders are unconstitutional! No one is wrong here. Remain peaceful! We reassemble in 2 hours at Liberty Square!”.

Sitting on the ground, the 500+ students* links hands and sang, in English, “We Shall Overcome”. As the last lines of “We are not afraid today” faded, and the crowd of police grew larger, the students chanted “和平！” (”Peace!”).

*According to another source, there were about 300 students by the time the police started to remove the students with force.

The police left, and students insisted to stay till the government gives them a satisfactory answer. Then the police moved in again and forcibly removed them again. The students began chanting “人權!” (”Human Rights!”), along with the crowd which quickly joined in.

Photo courtesy of judie.

After the forced removal, students gathered again:

The protesters are now reassembling at Liberty Square, welcoming anyone who is willing to join in peaceably, without political flags or placards, and without a partisan agenda. Reports indicate taxi drivers who heard of their plight are picking them up and taking them to Liberty Square for free.

台南的成大校門前，一群學生靜坐呼應台北的運動，已決議要繼續一直坐下去，直到馬政府正面回應為止。新竹、台中的學生正在集結。

In front of National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, some students started a sit-in to support the student protest in Taipei. They will carry on the sit-in until the government responds. Students in Hsin-Chu and Tai-Chung also started to gather together.

On 11/8, it rained in Taipei. Johnny reported:

一反昨夜近10部的SNG新聞採訪車，當場只餘兩部。一位女學生正在滂沱大雨中，清唱《美麗島》，這些坐在濕漉漉地面的年輕朋友仍在煎熬。天氣驟變，可能只是對身體的有形考驗，執政黨和社會冷漠的回應，才是最艱困的無形試煉。

…離開廣場時，我突然有個夢：哪天這些青年也能那些美國年輕人創造歷史，讓台灣擺脫舊時代思維的政客，社會只講是非公義，而不再分藍綠。

YES, YOU CAN!

There were ten SNG trucks yesterday, but there were only two SNG trucks today. A female student sat in the heavy rain and sang “The beautiful island.” It should be very dreadful for these young friends to sit on the wet ground, but they confronted the challenge of the terrible weather with their bodies. However, the ignorance of the ruling party and the society is the most difficult challenge for them.
…When I left the Liberty Square, a dream came to me: maybe someday these young people will create the history like what those American young people have done and let Taiwan get rid of those politicians with the old-time mindset, and our society will fight for justice without the blue and green division.

YES, YOU CAN!

Photo courtesy of judie.

Taiwan: Defending Rights to Protest

I-fan Lin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:50:14 +0000

Following David's article on “The Phantom of Police State” coming back with Chen Yun-lin (陳雲林)'s visit to Taiwan on 3 of Nov, I have collected some visual materials showing the conflict between the protesters and police with brief translation.

Since Nov 3rd, many protesters wearing pro-Taiwan T-shirt or banners or waving the ROC national flag have been harassed by the police, and some of them were wounded. To the extent that people playing Taiwanese songs (Sunrise records, 上揚唱片) were disrupted with force, and a cup of coffee became all too dangerous.

Manuscript translation:

Unlawful object: drinks?
When do citizens lost our rights to walk around with drinks on our hands?
Is it lawful for the police to push citizens toward the wall?
Is a cup of drinks a dangerous item now?

A group of motorcyclists waving the ROC national flag and Tibet flag were stopped by the police without any explanation.

When seeing the pro-Taiwan banner (“Taiwan is Taiwan”), the police (?) ran to the spot and took the banner away.
The protesters asked “This is our hotel room, and this banner is our property. Who gives you the right to come in and take our banners?”

Protesters said “We are Taiwanese. Why can't we express our opinions?”
Protesters asked the police “What's the problem with our national flag?”
After the police took and damaged these flags, the reporters asked the police “Isn't it wrong to damage our national flag?”

Defending rights to protest

Facing these incidents, Carolina thought Taiwan President Ma Ying-Jeou should take the responsibility.

在滿街的旗幟被拔走，民眾持旗被沒收的錯愕中，馬英九今天還唬爛說他絕對沒有下令撤旗。

When the (national) flags and banners on the streets were taken away and people holding these flags were shocked, Ma Ying-Jeou lied that he absolutely did not give orders to remove the (national) flags.

OJ is also very disappointed with the current government.

當我們看到我們的政府是這樣對待自己的人民，我們真的只能很心寒地覺悟了…那些好不容易爭取來的民主法制、人權價值，都被這個自我作賤的政府給徹底丟棄了。

Seeing our government treat our people in this way, we bitterly realize that…the democracy and human rights are thrown away by this shameful government.

However, citizens prepare to fight back, non-violently. Francais asked citizens to collect evidence if they see these incidents.

今年12月的國際人權日，亞裔人權團體將會在巴黎集體發聲，我們原本只是想要再次聲討中國對台灣的打壓，沒想到，自己的政府被打出獨裁專政原形，台灣正式列入人權受危害的國家。因此，我們想請大家集思廣益，提供馬政府上任後種種侵害人權的事件，我們會整理後在國際人權日的活動上，一起向國際媒體揭露。很遺憾，眼睜睜看台灣的沈淪，這卻是我們唯一可以做的；也請大家各自努力。

Asian human rights groups will gather and voice on the Human Right Day this December. We thought we would denounce the repression of Taiwan from China. However, our own government shows their dictatorship, and Taiwan is formally listed as a country whose human rights are endangered now. We appeal for gathering information about incidents that endanger human rights after President Ma inaugurated. We will put them together and reveal them to the international media. I am sorry that when we see the degradation of Taiwan, this is the only thing we can do. We should work hard now.

Taiwan: An online protest against the American Institute in Taiwan

I-fan Lin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:26:59 +0000

In September, Taiwanese artist Chen Chieh-jen started a website against the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) called, “I suspect that you intend to stow away to the U.S.”.

When he was invited to attend New Orleans Biennial, he went to the AIT to apply for a U.S. non-immigrant visa (business/tourist visa) at 12:45pm on September 23, 2008. When he delivered his application documents, he was told that there was an error in his document. He asked what the error was, but the officer yelled at him arrogantly, “Come here! Do you want to argue with me? I suspect that you intend to stow away to the U.S.”

After the accident, he left the AIT and claimed,

我當然要拒絕被這樣的羞辱，更不會再去申請美國簽證。

I surely reject this kind of humiliation, and I will never apply for a U.S. visa again.

Moreover, he invited others to share their experience if they faced a similar situation. He said,

我相信這個世界總是被點點滴滴的緩慢改變，我誠摯地邀請有類似經驗的人，無論是親身經歷、身旁朋友的經驗，或是你曾目擊的過程，都希望你能在這個部落格上留下你的見證。當這許許多多的經驗聚集起來時，或許能幫助我們想：我們為什麼會被如此對待？我們可以如何改變它？

I believe this world will be changed slowly, little by little. I sincerely invited people who have has a similar experience, either your own experience or your friends' experience or what you have seen, to write down your testimony in this blog. These gathered experiences may help us think: why are we treated this way? What can we do to change the situation?

There are many people leaving message in his blog supporting his protest. “usa ng” is one of them.

我很好奇為什麼有人會認為：用粗暴的語言和態度對待一個文件沒有填妥的簽證申請人是合理態度。

I am curious about why some people think it is reasonable to use abusive language and attitude toward a visa applicant when his or her document has some errors.

“Anonymous” thought U.S. government needs to clarify what these official are empowered to do,

美國政府賦予簽證官員懷疑簽證者有偷渡嫌疑，卻沒有賦予官員有污辱人的權力。官員有權拒簽，卻不能口出惡言。

The U.S. government empowered these officials to suspect applicants as to whether they intend to stow away to the U.S. However, these officials are not empowered to humiliate visa applicants. These officials have power to reject an application, but they should not use abusive language.

In his blog, some people shared their sad stories about the consequences of their failures applying for U.S. visas. “Juliet” talked about what the AIT official said when her visa application was rejected before her grandpa in the U.S. died.

爺爺在美國病危… 面試官只花了3分鐘看我的文件, 還是把我的資料退回. 我用”英文”說明這位親人已經是”美國公民” 只是想看我一面而已. 我當時在台灣有工作, 也不打算當個無業遊民. 面試官回了我一句話: Then you can ask airline company to send your grandfather back … 我只冷冷的回他一句話: You're heartless (你沒心干的) 就走了. 3天後我的爺爺去世, 我自從1997年就再也沒有再見過他.

My grandpa in the U.S. was about to die… the official spent three minutes reading my document but returned it. I spoke in “English” and told the official this relative of mine was a “U.S. citizen,” and what he hoped was to see me again. I have a job in Taiwan, and I do not plan to be homeless. The official said, “Then you can ask the airline company to send your grandfather back.”… I told him without any emotion, “You're heartless,” and left. Three days later, my grandpa died, and I had not seen him since 1997.

“Luka's” mother did not get a visa to attend her wedding ceremony in the U.S., and “Luka” does not think AIT's reasons for rejecting her mother's application are convincing.

我剛和美國公民結婚. 一年當中,幫我媽媽申請了三次觀光簽證…第一次是AIT懷疑我會跳機,連帶拒絕我媽媽的觀光簽證申請, 面試時一個問題都沒問媽媽, 就被拒了…第三次,媽媽帶著我美國結婚證書正本,證明我在美合法性. AIT在不到三分鐘的面試當中, 說”你已經有被拒的紀錄,規定就是不行, 下一位!”…我老公以美國公民身份請美國參議員發函至AIT, 詢問到底要怎樣才能讓我媽來美國…AIT回覆美國參議員,說我媽媽無法提供跟台灣社會上, 經濟上, 家庭上足夠的聯繫(Tie), 所以無法通過. 可是AIT面試時完全乎略我媽媽在台灣有其他兒子, 女兒, 孫子的事實…只教條式認定, 喪偶的單身女子, 無工作, 無大存款, 等於”想偷渡”. 就這樣, 上星期六我們過了一個沒有女方家長的婚宴…

I just got married to a U.S. citizen. In the past year, I helped my mother apply for a tourist visa three times… but her application was rejected mercilessly. For the first time, AIT suspected that I would stow away and rejected my application. My mother's application was rejected too without asking her any questions… For the third time, my mother brought my marriage certificate issued by U.S. government to prove that I am staying in the U.S. legally. However, within three minutes, AIT said, “you have a record of being rejected, so I cannot issue you a visa. Next!”… My husband, a U.S. citizen, asked a senator to send a letter to AIT inquiring what we could do to let my mother come to the U.S… AIT replied to the senator and said my mother could not provide enough social, economic, and family ties with Taiwan, so they could not issue her a visa. However, AIT ignored that my mother had other sons, daughters, and grandchildren in Taiwan… Based on their understanding, a single woman whose husband has died, without a job, and without impressive savings equals “having intention to stow away to the U.S.” As a result, last Saturday we had our wedding ceremony without my mother…

Some stories are less sad but full of angry. “Akemi” criticized that AIT officials misuse their power.

這位先生，他竟然告訴我，如果我不告訴他我要上班，他就不讓我過關…就這樣我就莫名其妙的在一個外人威脅下在一大堆陌生人面前宣示說，好啦我一定會快點找工作，來換取我的美國簽證。

This official told me that if I did not tell him I will start to work, he will not let me pass…As a result, I was threatened by a stranger and made a claim in front of a group of strangers such as, “ok, I will try to find a job soon,” in order to get my U.S. visa.

“Anonymous” tried to analyze why applicants have so much psychological stress when going to AIT.

美國的資料顯示,台灣人辦美簽被拒絕的比例約是4-5%,但卻有那麼多人對美簽有那麼多“害怕辦不過“或是不滿的情緒,顯示這當中不只是refusal rate的問題,而是在過程中是否受到合理的對待? 是否在辦的過與半不過之間我們可以找到一套合理的標準,而不是主觀的,情緒性的判定。

Data presented by the U.S. government shows that the refusal rate of Taiwanese applicants is 4-5%. However, there are so many people afraid that their application will be rejected or who are angry with the process. These complaints indicate that it is not only about the refusal rate, it is about whether applicants are treated reasonably, and if there is an acceptable standard for accepting or rejecting applications instead of the officials' objective and emotional judgment.

On the other hand, some people, including “anonymous“, reflected on how the Taiwanese government issues visas for foreigners.

除了新聞播出的外籍配偶面談常被刁難與問一些隱私問題外…（在越南）當地人為了辦來台簽證要花好幾天輾轉搭車到市區,然後在門外排好幾天的長龍,進去申辦也會被刁難,不見得一次拿得到簽證,所以仔細想想,我們跟美國其實也是5步笑百步.

In addition to the difficulties and privacy issues faced by many foreign spouses of Taiwanese in the media… (In Vietnam,) it takes locals several days to take buses to downtown, and then they need to line up for several days outside the embassy. After they enter the embassy, they are also interrogated and may not get their visa if they only try once. If we think about this, what our government does to foreigners is similar to what the U.S. government does to us.

China: Media Manipulation on the Poisonous Milk Powder Scandal

I-fan Lin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:01:27 +0000

When the poisoned milk scandal goes from bad to worse and raises international concerns, China government started to increase their control over the media in China. As the scandal involved most well established brands like Yili and Mengniu, ordinary people like Boyue feel that there is nothing else can we believe in.

Indeed, the situation is very depressing especially when the government prefers to manipulate the media than encourage public monitor to safeguard people's lives. beta disclosed the details of newsroom instruction notes:

中央电视台人士说，上星期五就接到了通知，说只能采用新华社的通稿。还有的记者说，的确已经下文件，让新闻单位最好不要报道有关的评论和儿童因这种奶制品而患有肾结石的事情。

Employees in the China Central Television said they received notice last Friday saying that they should only use news release from Xinhua News. Some reporters said they did receive notice asking them not to report comments and news related to children's kidney stone cases due to the poisoned powdered milk products.

Fu Rui-Lon criticized how the government controls the media:

” 三鹿毒奶粉案”延烧至9月15日，中宣部一声令下，紧急刹住了全国各家新闻媒体的深入揭批毒奶粉的热潮，连前两天高调批评这起丑闻的中国官方喉舌新华社，也都取消了批评的语气，转为高调表扬”毒奶粉案”所涉及的各职能部门…一场涉及成千上万个家庭的惨祸，坏事变好事，活生生的转变为党和政府各部门、各级领导身先士卒的光荣模范事迹…都说”多难兴邦”，我认为应该精确理解成”老百姓多难，共产党兴旺”。

The “Sanlu poisonous milk scandal” attracted more and more attention until the Central Propaganda Department gave strict orders on 9/15 to stop all Chinese media to report and investigate this scandal. Xinhua News, which is a mouthpiece of China government, shifted from a critical tone of voice to more positive reports and eulogy for the government departments' effectiveness in dealing with this scandal…This is a tragedy for hundred of thousands families. However, the sad story is being transformed into a happy story–what we hear now are honorable stories about those leaders and people working in the government…There is a proverb “after disasters a country will be stronger.” I think this proverb should be understood as “when the citizens are suffered from disasters, the Communist Party of China becomes stronger and stronger.”

Lianyue worried that the situation will become worse and worse if China government keeps tolerating these corrupted corporations.

三鹿之后，今天伊利又在香港被查出含有三聚氰胺，而目前并无国内任何有关部门及厂家就此事发表看法…中国食品、药品业在国内国际都声名狼藉，可是这一切只引来所谓的正面宣传及删除负面新闻，企业在一次又一次的纵容中，彻底不在乎公众安全…管制信息，禁止媒体与公民的监督权，正是系统崩溃的最大推手…三鹿事件以来，有关部门似乎又把重点放在防民之口，这只会使当前的危机急剧放大，就算硬撑过今天，很快就会迎来下次更大的危机，直至整个系统彻底崩溃。

In addition to the Sanlu Group, the Yili Group is reported to have melamine in their products in Hong Kong. However, there is no comment from China government or Chinese companies yet…Food and pharmaceutical products made in China have very bad reputation. However, all the bad news are dealt by spreading eulogy of the government and blocking reports harmful to the government. These corporations do not care about public safety any more when the government tolerates their wrong doings again and again…After Sanlu's scandal spread out, the government focuses on shutting the media and citizens up and prevent us from monitoring the government and corporate sectors, which only helps escalate the system crisis. If the system survives today, it will soon face bigger and bigger crisis until the whole system falls down.

On Sept 16, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) found out that among 491 batches of products produced by 109 companies they have checked, 69 batches of milk powder products produced by 22 companies were contaminated by melamine in varying degrees (you can find the names of these companies at the end of this article). Two among these 22 companies are very well-known in China: the Yili and Mengniu Groups.

Chinaretail News reported:
Contaminated products found in the tests include baby milk powder products produced by Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group, Shanghai Panda Dairy, Qingdao Shengyuan Dairy, Shanxi Gu Cheng Dairy, Jiangxi Guangming Yingxiong Dairy, Baoji Huimin Dairy, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy, Torador Dairy Industry (Tianjin), Guangdong Yashili Group, Hunan Peiyi Dairy, Heilongjiang Qilin Dairy, Shanxi Yashili Dairy, Shenzhen Jinbishi Milk, Scient (Guangzhou) Infant Nutrition, Guangzhou Jinding Dairy Products Factory, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, Yantai Ausmeadow Nutriment, Qingdao Suncare Nutritional Technology, Xi'an Baiyue Dairy, Yantai Leilei Dairy, Shanghai Baoanli Dairy, and Fuding Chenguan Dairy.