the Binnan project gradually lost momentum to forward new initiatives.
Paradoxically, opposition sentiment cooled when Su Huanzhi was elected as
county magistrate in 2001. Su won by a slight margin of the total votes, but
won a landslide in Qigu and the adjacent areas of Xigang, Xuejia, Jiangjun
Village and Jiali Township. The anti-Binnan movement had provided Su with
a strong political base, but now he was an incumbent official, with
responsibilities for the county’s economic growth.
In April 2005, the EPA formally approved the final version of the
developer’s EIA review on the Binnan industrial complex, thereby bringing to
a close this procedural stage of the process. The district committee of the
Ministry of the Interior (MOI) will begin an evaluation of feasibility. Given
the strong opposition by Magistrate Su, however, it is uncertain whether this
investment – with a real value over NT$300 billion (US$9.1 billion) – will go
forward. The Qigu Wetlands have now become an eco-tourism site after
President Chen Shui-bian expressed his full support for Magistrate Su’s plan
to establish a ‘Nanying National Scenic Area’in August 2002. The COA of the
Executive Yuan announced a wildlife PA, providing a wintering site for the
spoonbill in Qigu Taiwan in November 2002.
Political factors played key roles in the twists and turns of the Binnan
project. Among all these factors, the political skills of Su Huanzhi should not
be ignored. From the local fishermen’s perspective, the previous magistrate
was not responsive to the needs of fish farmers. They thought that the local
KMT apparatus cooperated with the central government to promote
development and sacrifice local fishermen’s interests. Yet Su Huanzhi became
an advocate. He was born in the Qigu area, into a poor family; and he
understood the suffering of local residents.^34
In addition to trusting a native son, the local environmental movement
needed a political leader to fight with existing interests and local factions. Su
emerged at the right time to satisfy grassroots needs, and founded the Love
Your Homeland Foundation to promote protection of the Qigu Wetlands. One
Qigu veteran leader remarked that most leaders at the village and township
levels supported development when the Binnan project was first announced.
Village and county representatives supported development too. The fishermen
lacked resources and power to contend with local leaders and elites. Under the
leadership of Su Huanzhi, fishermen finally organized a protest against the
development project.^35 However, Su’s interest in the Qigu case was connected
to his own political career. His residence and work in Tainan County, the home
town of President Chen Shui-bian, helped promote a patron-client relationship
with the highest level of the central government. In contrast, Su’s predecessor
Chen Tangshan was not a direct client of President Chen, and also Chen had a
more balanced view toward environmental protection and economic
development. President Chen and Su were both DPP members, but the tangle
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