Century-old stone slabs stolen; Alitou leader urges visitors to show respect
If the flowers and plants you carefully tended in front of your home, or the bricks and tiles set into your wall, or your mailbox were stolen for no reason, how would you feel? What if it were a stone block beside an ancestor's gravestone? That is exactly how the tribespeople felt when a stone slab retaining wall at the century-old chief's house of the Ali Tribe in Wutai Township, Pingtung County was stolen a few days ago. Ali Tribe chief Pao Chi-cheng admits this is not the first time; before this, a large stone slab on the roof of a tribal member's house had been taken away by tourists, leaving them both angry and helpless.
Maolin stone slab houses have been stolen from until they are nearly collapsing
The theft of stone slabs from indigenous peoples is not a first. The Lai family stone slab house in Maolin District, Kaohsiung, which was recently promoted as a hot spot for tourism publicity, has also had many wall stones damaged, making local tribespeople worry that one day the stone slab house may collapse. Such incidents have also happened in the Ali Tribe. "In recent years, after the Ali Tribe opened up to tourism, many people go up the mountain to view cherry blossoms before the Lunar New Year, and among them some unfriendly people took away the roof stone slabs of a nearby residence, which really leaves us baffled."
Pao Chi-cheng points out that tourists going up the mountain now can basically be divided into 3 types. One type hires a guided interpreter, whose presence can restrain tourist behavior. But another type brings the whole family in an SUV, loaded with pots, bowls, ladles and basins; some of these families will find a courtyard and sit on the ground brewing tea and chatting, completely ignoring that this place may be a local resident's courtyard.
In addition, they have also seen backpackers with very high-end equipment who appear very environmentally conscious, yet pull wildflowers and saplings right out of the ground, wanting to take them down the mountain. "Isn't the basic idea of traveling to a place to leave only footprints and take nothing away? Why is such a rule so hard to follow?"
Tribe actively seeks special-zone control; in the future, trespassing into the tribe will be against the law
It is understood that not many tribespeople actually live up in the Ali Tribe. After Typhoon Morakot severely devastated the Ali Tribe in 2009, some tribespeople moved to permanent housing at the foot of the mountain. "To make a living, the young and able-bodied people of the Ali Tribe generally work at the foot of the mountain, which leaves the tribe's patrol team very short of manpower for daily patrols."
Pao Chi-cheng further points out that although Wutai Township has 8 tribes and covers a vast area, the police substations have been continuously downsized over the years, and now only 4 police officers remain to watch over this place. In addition, with the recent opening of the Shanchuan Glazed Bridge, 2 officers have been stationed there for traffic control, clearly showing that police manpower is insufficient. "When I reported the theft of the stone slab seats to the police, the police were also helpless. Therefore, whether it is the tribal patrol team or the local police force, both are insufficient, and it is very difficult to prevent tourists from taking away every plant and tree on the spot."
The Ali Tribe is currently actively seeking the designation of a "Natural and Cultural Ecological Landscape Area." If in the future a "Natural and Cultural Ecological Landscape Area" is established under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications' "Development of Tourism Regulations," its effect would be equivalent to that of a protected area. Not only could total visitor numbers be controlled, but visitors would need to apply to enter accompanied by a professional guide, and those who trespass on their own could face a fine of 30,000 yuan in accordance with the law.
Pao Chi-cheng says that above the Ali Tribe is the world cultural asset "Haocha Tribe." If the Ali Tribe can do a good job in the role of ecological tourism and be designated as a "Natural and Cultural Ecological Landscape Area," it could also protect the Haocha Tribe above. He sighs, hoping this is a way to solve the current problem of visitors arriving and damaging the environment at will. He knows that 99% of tourists are kind and love nature, but there will always be 1 or 2 vandals playing the role of the rotten apple. He hopes visitors can still keep in mind the principle of mutual respect, so that the environment can develop sustainably.