Danhai Phase 2 Planned Area Petitions the Authorities to Be Designated an Agricultural Ecological Development Zone

Invitation:
Premier of the Executive Yuan, Minister of the Interior, Construction and Planning Agency, Urban Planning Committee review members, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Administration, environmental impact assessment committee members,
Minister of Culture, New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Bureau, Council for Economic Planning and Development… (20-30 letters sent between March and April)
Please come and share your guidance at the "New Town, Postmodern Field" photography exhibition
and help promote the Danhai Phase 2 planned area as an "Agricultural Ecological Development Zone"

Hello~

I take the liberty of inviting you to spare some time to visit and offer your guidance at my "New Town, Postmodern Field" photography exhibition, currently on display at the Cheng Family Old House in Tamsui, to learn about the current state of Danhai's culture and ecology, as well as the heartfelt voices of many longtime residents, so that misguided policies do not leave regret on this land.

In Tamsui, the "Danhai New Town," which has been under development for 20 years, still has an idle land rate of 85% in its 446-hectare Phase 1, the sell-through rate of completed buildings is only about 60%, and the population occupancy rate is only 10%. With such a failed new town plan still unresolved, the government launched a 635-hectare land development project for Phase 2 Zone 1 in 2012. The total land area of the two zones in Phase 2 is 1168 hectares, and three-quarters of it is still farmland and forest land. Most residents have lived here for two or three hundred years. If development proceeds, the existing cultural, ecological and historical context will all be buried along with this unjust development driven solely by real estate interests.

I also earnestly ask for your help in rescuing the cultural and ecological assets within the Danhai Phase 2 planned area, and in working together to protect cultural assets. At present, the items of significant cultural heritage value in Danhai Phase 2 that I know of are listed below. Of course, there are still many cultural assets on this land worth preserving. I respectfully request that cultural and historical experts be commissioned to conduct a proper survey of the area's cultural and ecological assets, and that the Danhai Green Mountain area be promoted as an "Agricultural Ecological Development Zone," serving as a place of spiritual renewal for the Greater Taipei metropolitan area and preparing us to respond to increasingly severe climate change and food crises.

Thank you, and best wishes to you!

Respectfully, Shih Yun
2013.03.25
◎Appendix 1
Exhibition information:
New Town, Postmodern Field
Shih Yun 2013 Photography Exhibition
3/14~4/7, Thursday~Sunday, 1:00 pm~5:00 pm
Cheng Family Old House, Gongsiantian Creek, Tamsui
No. 7, Lane 138, Section 1, Xinmin Street, Tamsui District, New Taipei City

◎Appendix 2
Important cultural assets of Danhai Green Mountain

1. Old Houses
＊Pidao Zheng Family Old House

[Huang Qingshui]
Because we have mountain springs all around here
that can be used for irrigation
so this kind of environment cannot be bought with money
When the pears are lush
and the leaves are beautiful
I sometimes go over there to sit quietly
and forget everything
That kind of happiness cannot be described
Everything is quiet, with only the murmuring sound of the creek
It is truly happy
Our environment here is so good
If the land is expropriated, there will be nothing left
It really worries me
When the notice first arrived
I could not sleep at night
wondering what to do

[Lin Hong Qingzi]
I have already formed a bond with this land here
Though life is not exactly wealthy
it is very free and easy
The government coming to expropriate leaves us helpless
not knowing where to go
I once told Section Chief Hong (of the New Town Construction Section)
that we have already been expropriated once
and begged to see if this time the house could be kept
along with a few plots of field for growing vegetables
He said to me in a very loud voice
that if I love farming, he would designate an "agricultural zone" for me to farm
I said I do not want to farm
I want land that belongs to me

[Zheng Qiangzhi]
When I used to sell clothes, I was very overweight
over 80 kilograms
and I even had to use a cane
Now I have farmed vegetables to the point where I no longer need a cane
My health is much better
I was born in the 22nd year of the Republic of China
born right here
and I have lived here for so long
Our house is an old house
We are used to living here
and we know everyone here well
If it is expropriated
everyone will scatter
and if we get the money, we would not even know where to buy
I still want to buy more farmland

[Lu Li Jinlian]
I am over seventy years old
My husband was killed by a motorcycle years ago
Our children were only six or seven then
At that time my mother-in-law was still alive
She helped me look after the children
while I went to work in a factory
I kept working until I was laid off
Then I came home to grow vegetables
selling whatever I had
carrying it in a vegetable basket
taking the free bus
earning a few hundred dollars a day
Sometimes the humidity here is rather heavy
but I am used to it
I hope the house can be kept

[Lu Jianhe]
In my great-grandfather's time
our family was considered a major landlord in Niupuzi
I originally worked in Taipei
and I worked there for about 13 and a half years
In 2000, because my father had terminal cancer
I took early retirement and came back
Actually, growing organic vegetables is a great interest of mine
and I really like working with little pressure
with no financial problems
and being able to care for my family nearby
Although the salary used to be very high
the pressure and the sacrifices were also very high
I ruined my health without even knowing it
So coming back makes me feel very relaxed
my health is good
and I have made some like-minded friends

[Wang Chen Meian]
If it is expropriated from us
just thinking about it gives me a headache
I hope the government and the conglomerates will show compassion
Enough development is enough
Otherwise, if land keeps being expropriated
one day there will be no farming left in Taiwan, China
and if we rely only on imports from abroad
we will have to depend on others' goodwill
Then would it not be very hard for us to survive?
If we have our own local talent
and also cultivate some young people in agriculture to run things
and all countries treat one another well
everyone can live and work in peace and contentment
Would that not be great?

[Chen Lu Yang and her niece-in-law]
We are already so old
and yet we still have to move around like rats
and we are not used to living in buildings
with the iron gate shut, if we forget the key
would we not often be locked out?
Living in a high-rise is like being caged like a bird
always crouching, how could we manage to live?
Even if there is an elevator, we would not know how to use it
we old people would not know how to press it
and we would not even be able to open the door
Here we are used to living, and that is fine
Where else would we go?
And how much longer can we live anyway?
I am already over eighty

[Su Shuyuan]
In our Beitouli there are people who had strokes and have difficulty moving
Their houses are built on their own fields
and all four children live together
If the government keeps doing this
their descendants will all have to live apart from their elderly father and mother
A government like this is truly detestable
never thinking of the common people
We too hope to pass things down from generation to generation
with children and grandchildren living nearby
Otherwise, once it is all expropriated from you
we will all be scattered
and some elderly people will be left to live or die on their own
Your government should not do this
You only take care of the conglomerates and those construction companies
It is obviously just robbing the people