Zhudong farmers have fought for their farmland for thirty years, and the county government restarts the Phase 3 development of the Hsinchu Science Park

Thirty years ago, for the development of the Hsinchu Science Park, several hundred hectares of farmland near Zhudong were designated as reserved industrial land. However, because the area lacked water and electricity resources, the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau decided in 1995 to abandon the expropriation. Still, the Hsinchu County Government was unwilling to give up. Since then, development under all kinds of names - industrial development zones, residential areas - has constantly encroached on this land, which has become a piece of fat coveted by all sides.

Almost all the land in the planned area is farmland. The farmers have deep feelings and memories tied to the land, so they rose up in protest and have kept up the struggle for thirty years, at times even breaking out into bloody clashes, yet land justice has never been achieved. Peng Yingxiong, an old farmer who took part in the large-scale protest ten years ago, recalls, "The earliest one was thirty years ago. My dad went to protest; I was still young and did not join. Then came the protest ten years ago. My dad had passed away, so I went. Now my son takes part. Three generations of our family have been protesting."

In 2017, the county government restarted the development plan. Its contents include residential zones, commercial zones, industrial zones, scattered industrial zones, research-exclusive zones, industry-exclusive zones, Hakka agricultural leisure-exclusive zones, and gas station-exclusive sites. Peng Yingxiong, hoe in hand, stands in his own field and says indignantly, "We have feelings for this land. If it is expropriated, where is this hoe supposed to go?"