park authority that began conducting evaluation research. The proposed park
would cover 53000 hectares, including four aboriginal villages in the northern
Taiwan counties of Taipei, Ilan, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu.^93 Initially, the plan was
to call it the Chilan National Park, until aborigines objected. ‘Chilan’ means
orchid habitat in Chinese as there are many orchids on Chilan Mountain.
However, the Tayal name for Chilan Mountain is Magao, which means
‘spicebush’.^94 An aboriginal villager explained objections to the name Chilan
at a meeting sponsored by the national park authority:
‘The Tayal name of the Chilan area is “Magao,” in memory of a battle against the
Japanese invasion in the early 20th century. Now the cypress trees in Chilan
Mountain are almost all cut out, and they have been replaced with cedar, not
cypress. The national park is supposed to protect the cypress forests, but they are
now preserved well in Yuanyian Lake and the Shuie-bai mountain area, so the name
falls short of reality. Therefore, it is best to name it Magao National Park.’^95President Chen Shui-bian supported the aboriginal position.^96 Within six
months of his government taking office, DPP legislators moved to amend
articles of the National Park Law to permit traditional aboriginal practices
such as hunting and gathering.^97 The national park authority set up an Advisory
Committee for the establishment of the park as a participatory regime
including local residents, particularly the Tayal people.
Furthermore, the DPP government promised that the Magao National Park
would be co-managed with aborigines, and protection of their interests and
conservation of their culture would be the principal aims.^98 Despite opposition
from the Forest Protection Department of VACRS, in mid-2003 the DPP
cabinet officially delineated the proposed area. The new park’s 53600 hectares
would include 900 hectares of primeval cypress forest and be inhabited by
some 30000 persons, most of whom are Atayal. Revision of the National Park
Law made the MOI responsible for holding dialogs with the Atayal indigen-
ous people to develop a model for park management. The park administration
promised to provide employment opportunities and training for indigenous
people, to serve as forest guides and conservation inspectors, and said it would
cooperate with indigenous people in developing ancillary services.^99
However, Taiwan’s partisan politics intruded on these plans. Opposition
parties sought out grassroots government and some aboriginal leaders.^100
Aboriginal legislators objected to the government’s planning, by insisting that
the National Park Law be amended to include a provision providing for the
welfare of the aborigines before work on the park began.^101 They also called on
the Legislative Yuan to pass the Indigenous People’s Autonomous Area Law
to protect the basic rights for aboriginal people. These controversies led the
Legislative Yuan to freeze the budget of Magao National Park. The MOI began
to establish collaborative efforts with the aboriginals. At the preliminary stage,
Protected areas and biodiversity conservation 127