Governance of Biodiversity Conservation in China And Taiwan

beautiful landscape. The land becomes empty, and only with the presence of wild

animals can it gain its full beauty. Nature and wild animals are complementary.

People who live among wildlife without harming it are in harmony with the

environment. Sadly, the profusion of wildlife that once thrived in the region is no

longer to be found. Partly due to hunting, but primarily due to loss of habitat, what

remains is only a fraction of what there was.’^15

Many minorities employ animistic practices as part of their traditional culture.
For example, both in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia in China:

‘The older generation and the herdsmen believe that there is a non-material spiritual

world, and that every mountain, rock, forest and water body has a god or spirit or

local deity, which owns and protects it. Therefore, there are thousands of places and

mountains manifested as sacred.’^16

Both of these minority perspectives on nature conservation more closely
resemble ecocentricism than the anthropocentric logic. Thus they conflict with
traditional Chinese perspectives. We note these conflicts particularly when we
discuss protected areas in Chapter 5.
Little scholarly attention has focused on traditional environmental attitudes
in China, but the most prevalent and powerful among the leadership
emphasized use of other species and ecosystems to meet human needs. Harris
notes that the orientations are:

‘Predominantly “utilitarian” and secondarily “dominionistic” and “aesthetic”.

Simply put, most Chinese traditionally view wildlife in terms of its impact on

human life and livelihood, and secondarily as objects of beauty, but only when

under the control of man.’^17

We turn to the history of modern China and Taiwan, for insights into the
policies leaders pursued respecting conservation of nature.

THE IMPERIAL SYSTEM

Traditional Chinese thought did place special emphasis on the relationship
between nature and human beings. The omnipotent emperor had to follow the
rule of nature to govern the earth effectively. Yet the two millennia of the
Chinese imperial system were characterized by absolute power of the emperor
and the subordination of civil society.
A paragraph in the Records of the Historian(Shiji) indicates the ruler’s
duty:

‘It is the duty of the prime minister to be an aid to the Son of Heaven above, to

adjust the forces of the yin and yang, and to see that all proceeds in accordance with

22 Governance of biodiversity conservation in China and Taiwan