The justice I learned on Ketagalan Boulevard over these two years

General News Jan 1, 1970By Emily Carter 0 views

Once again, I came without thinking clearly about why I was coming, without thinking clearly about what I was coming here to do.

I decided to start thinking about it after I arrived.

On December 12, farmers returned to Ketagalan Boulevard to declare that "land justice will not be compromised." I boarded the 1:35 pm Ubus in Xiluo, Yunlin. By the time I got off at Minquan West Road Station in Taipei, it was almost five o'clock. Luckily I didn't get off at Taipei Main Station like last time, or I would have been stuck in traffic for another half hour. This time, I was smarter.

The first photo I took upon arriving at Ketagalan Boulevard on 12/12, posted simultaneously on Facebook. At this point it was still light out, and there were still many empty spots in the middle. It must have been around five o'clock.

By the time I posted the second photo, it had already gotten dark.

That's when I thought, at the very least, what I can do is stand at the edge of the scene and write what I see and hear in real time on FB, along with some photos or video, so that my friends on FB know where I am and what the people here are doing.

If I come across friends who don't understand, I'm willing to talk with them online and explain what this is all about; for those interested in learning more, I can provide links to other in-depth reports.

Sure enough, as soon as I got online, every photo I posted immediately got likes, or encouragement, or reminders to stay warm, or people saying their spirits were with me!

Over these two years, if I've learned anything on Ketagalan Boulevard, it's this: first, participate; second, document; third, share it out as much as possible in real time, so that others who can't come also feel like they're there. This is more important than sitting in the audience seats and chanting slogans along with everyone, because this is what I can do better than others.

I have a computer, I have internet. As long as there's power, a table and chair, and preferably a tent to shelter me from wind and rain, I can exert a little bit of influence. Although there are live feeds online too, I represent my friends on site, and that kind of emotional impact is different. I believe this, so I still set up my own FB live broadcast.

Then I posted a video, with this caption: Even more unexpected is that over a year later, people from even more places have come…

I asked for several stickers and tied a yellow ribbon on my hat, declaring that I had arrived!

Last year I still brought my old computer and put stickers on the back; this year I brought my new little red computer, which can last nearly five hours and is my main weapon for the whole night. Coincidentally, the land justice stickers are also red. Last summer I carried a reusable cold water bottle with two big green characters reading ’agricultural use’ stuck on it. I used it for a long time afterward; it was so eye-catching. This winter I'm carrying a pink thermos, and I stuck the same green ’agricultural use’ sticker on it.

I seem to have gotten used to doing these little things, making my belongings share the same spirit!

Along with this photo of land justice, I wrote:

Our incredible government and legislators are about to skip the clause-by-clause review of the land expropriation law at first reading and send it directly to second reading, passing the Executive Yuan version through shady closed-door negotiations between ruling and opposition parties, while the civil society version is completely ignored….

The officials put on an air of great benevolence, saying they will purchase at market price, but the point isn't the price - it's what the actual motives for expropriation are in each place? Are they really all in line with public interest and necessity?

And the reason we're all here at this moment is because, at this very same time, not far away, that ’negotiation’ is underway…

From beginning to end, I actually stayed hidden under the tent by the table so I could use my computer. I wasn't in the center of the crowd with everyone else braving the wind and rain, only occasionally grabbing my camera to go take photos or record the speeches on stage. More and more people came, and I could barely see the stage. People near the edge in front of my table were all standing to watch, and only a single-person-wide gap remained in the middle for people to pass through as they came and went.

I heard someone on stage go from a hoarse voice to no voice at all. I couldn't tell who it was, so I stood up to look, and realized it was Liao Pen-chuan. I wrote tonight's first pure comment, with no photo and no link:

[Land Justice]Simply put, if there is no legitimacy, there is no such thing as market-price compensation!

Then I added my own notes:

-Liao Pen-chuan has talked until he has no voice left; you can barely tell it's him speaking.
-The most despicable thing is that they brought in experts and scholars to revise the law, which amounts to making them endorse it, but after the revisions they deleted all the important parts, leaving only the market-price compensation clause. What a terrifying scheme~~~~~
-The saddest part is that a year and a half of effort since the Dapu excavator field-destruction incident has been ’harvested’ by the government, who treat us as nothing but a bunch of farmers wanting money. What we demand - land justice - means expropriation must have legitimacy, necessity, and genuine public interest.
-How they belittle the people. This is something I truly cannot swallow.

The person who still couldn't sit down to listen below the stage is Teacher Pen-chuan (far left). The six words he said are deeply imprinted in my mind:
Fake law revision, real harvest!!!

-Harvest what?? They harvested the land justice we've been cultivating since 717 last year. The government reaped ’market-price compensation’ and packaged it as a benevolent policy, packaged it as their justice.
-The cold wind isn't what makes you shiver; what truly makes you tremble all over is the evil that goes by the name of justice.

Just now, Chuang Cheng-teng, whose rice was named one of the top ten classic premium rice varieties, also took the stage to speak. Can you believe it? Our government may have forgotten to coordinate internally - even farmland that received such an honor is going to be expropriated…… Unbelievable.

A-ta has arrived!! The title I gave this video:
Come on, let's fire ourselves up, no matter where you are!
<object width='240' height='160' codebase='http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6, 0, 40, 0' classid='clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000'></object>

-Tonight, I really want to hear the Rural Armed Youth's song ’Fuck the Government,’ and sing along: Without justice there's no peace~~~~
-Come to Ketagalan Boulevard and sing along!!!
-In front of me, there are more and more people. I can barely see the stage, only hear voices.
-It feels like I don't know anyone, yet every face is so familiar...

I hope friends in front of their computers can also stand up, wave their hands, and stretch! Unfortunately, I didn't get to photograph or record everyone who took the stage. Some I didn't even see - I only heard the relay of speeches from the stage, along with gentle songs and poetry readings…

Wu Chih-ning has taken the stage~~~~
-His voice is so warm.
-Plus I just went to the back and poured myself a cup of hot coffee. It's just great!
-Suddenly I realize I haven't eaten anything tonight, and yet I don't feel hungry at all?!

Now it's the cultural figures' turn on stage. The poet Hung Hung is here with his poems. He's about to start reading…

Chanting slogans really does help fight the wind and cold~~~
<object width='240' height='160' codebase='http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6, 0, 40, 0' classid='clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000'></object>

Wanbao finally held out until the case was withdrawn, but they still came to show their support~~
<object width='240' height='160' codebase='http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6, 0, 40, 0' classid='clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000'></object>

A-bao, who rushed here from Yilan, spoke every word so clearly and with such force. I recorded almost all of it and couldn't bring myself to delete a single sentence. Please take five minutes to listen, or share it with everyone!!!
<object width='240' height='260' codebase='http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6, 0, 40, 0' classid='clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000'></object>

Finally, my computer popped up a low battery warning, so I had to leave this message:
My computer only has seven minutes of power left, and my live broadcast can only go this far. I don't know how long the event will continue, but tomorrow morning at ten o'clock there will still be a sit-in protest in front of the Legislative Yuan. Friends who care about this issue, please keep following it.

Luckily my camera still had battery, so I could capture the scene as people dispersed:
<object width='240' height='160' codebase='http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6, 0, 40, 0' classid='clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000'></object>
Finally, this is the dispersal. I filmed it while walking…, but everyone knows, it's not over yet. Not over yet, not over!

And before leaving, I photographed the backs of many police officers…

[Don't understand]The event ended on time. As I was leaving, I finally saw the police officers, who had also stood here all night. The Presidential Office, still so far away.

Don't understand - it's already so close, yet still so far...

I organized my notes from the night of 12/12, and only then did I slowly begin to understand why I had set out. Although it's not my home or my farmland being expropriated; although these people are not my neighbors or relatives; although I'm not a media reporter or part of any related organization; although no one asked me to write articles or reports about the event…, I still came, alone, without any particular desire to interview anyone, just wanting to quietly observe.

But wanting to be ’quiet’ is impossible. Once here, you naturally sing along, shout along, get swept up in passion, get moved to tears.

If you were to ask me what I've learned on Ketagalan Boulevard these two times, besides land justice, it's still justice. If a person needs to replenish their body with some righteous energy at regular intervals, then at a scene of citizen participation like this, it's most easily replenished.

If, over these two years, friends think I'm a person with a sense of justice, then I'd say it started that night last year on 717, guarding here, when I couldn't stand to see the dignity of ordinary farmers and common people being trampled on; when I visited friends in Penghu, I couldn't stand to see the residents of that small island being treated like idiots by consortia who always want to build casinos and push big developments; when a beautiful beach was about to have a big hotel built on it through BOT, I couldn't stand the cowardice and incompetence of government officials.

My ’justice education’ was cultivated at these scenes of protest and petition. On stage and off, everyone is my teacher; in all directions, everything is a case study I can learn from; one action plan after another is a practice I can participate in!

We don't have to join every protest march, but whenever you feel even slightly that some action seems to have something to do with you, you can step forward.

Stepping forward isn't hard. Like me, bringing a camera and computer and standing at the edge is one way; if you're not used to shouting loudly or raising your voice to sing along, quietly coming to listen on site is also a way. Stepping forward isn't that noble, isn't that exhausting, isn't that dangerous, isn't that frightening. Citizen participation can start simply by showing concern for others through your eyes.

Although no one wants to come back to Ketagalan Boulevard again, if we ever need to, we will keep coming back. The justice in a Harvard classroom is a journey of debate, something to discuss; our justice lesson on Ketagalan Boulevard - whether it's excavators or legal clauses - is one tough battle after another, something to fight.

The justice I learned on Ketagalan Boulevard over these two years

Related Articles