Land expropriation disputes flare up across Miaoli as Qiding insists on farming on farmland with its own watermelon festival

The "Zhunan Qiding Industrial Park" development project is expected to take back more than 100 hectares of state-owned land, sparking a strong backlash from local tenant farmers. At this very moment, the Zhunan Farmers' Association moved the annual Qiding Watermelon Festival to Dapu, which does not grow watermelons at all. Nearly 100 members of the Zhunan Qiding Self-Rescue Association simply held their own watermelon music gathering. Residents of Miaoli's Dapu, Wanbao and Yuanli, who are also victims of land development, came to show their support. The people at the scene were in high spirits, shouting "fight to the end," and in two weeks they will head north to protest at the Executive Yuan and the Control Yuan.

Official watermelon festival moves to Dapu, so Qiding simply holds its own

Qiding, in northern Miaoli, has a uniquely advantageous sandy terrain that nurtures sweet, delicate watermelons. The watermelon festival held each year at Qiding's Baoxing Temple is a local highlight, but this year the Zhunan Farmers' Association moved the festival to Dapu Elementary School. Absurdly, Dapu mainly grows rice and does not produce watermelons at all. Xie Wenchong, chairman of the Zhunan Qiding Self-Rescue Association, said the watermelon festival is now in its fourth year, and in order to avoid the self-rescue association's activities, the Zhunan Farmers' Association decided last week to move it to Dapu. Farmers would have to load cart after cart of watermelons and drive to Dapu, "which is simply deliberately dividing local bonds!"

The Miaoli County Government announced last year that it would establish the "Zhunan Qiding Industrial Park," covering 112 hectares, 95% of which is state-owned land, with 286 affected tenant households. In February this year, more than 100 people formed the "Zhunan Qiding Self-Rescue Association." Since it coincided with watermelon season and they were being obstructed by the Zhunan Farmers' Association, the self-rescue association simply held a small-scale watermelon festival of its own.

Although there were no prize quizzes or karaoke gatherings, there was support from Rural Armed Youth, the Yuanli Mothers' Choir, as well as the Hsinchu Wilderness Association and residents of Wanbao and Dapu. The self-rescue association also did not hold back, bringing out watermelon after watermelon for everyone to eat their fill.