foreign observers as well as domestic environmental groups in the 1980s.
Most active in the coalition of groups petitioning the Legislative Yuan for
greater biodiversity conservation protection were the Wild Bird Society of
Taipei, Society for Wildlife and Nature (SWAN), and affiliated scholars and
endangered species experts. They held several demonstrations outside the
Legislative Yuan during the first readings of the bill, and it was adopted, with
little opposition, in June 1989.
The original legislation was drawn from several foreign laws on wildlife
conservation, including those of the US and European countries. The law
classified nearly 2000 animal species into three categories. The first, the
endangered category, includes species whose population is at or below the
critical level. The second is the rare and valuable category for species that are
native to Taiwan or with few members of the population. Species in neither of
these protected categories could be disturbed, abused, hunted, captured,
traded, exchanged, owned, killed, or processed.^43 The third category includes
species which require conservation measures but could be utilized when, as
determined by the COA, population levels have become sustainable.
Under the terms of this legislation, the government also established 13
wildlife refuges which encompassed more than 23000 hectares of land. For
example, the Cat Islets Seabird Refuge was established in the Pescadores and
the Tatu Rivermouth Wildlife Refuge adjacent to Taichung County. Also, 28
major wildlife habitats were created.
Although the legislation entrusted enforcement of the conservation law to
the COA, penalties were slight (under NT$1000 [US$30] in many cases) and
no incarceration was prescribed. Domestic ENGOs complained that rare and
endangered species were still being traded illegally in Taiwan, and those with
foreign connections, such as TRAFFIC and SWAN, shared this information
with colleagues there. The UK protested Taiwan’s trade in endangered species
and threatened trade action. It was US pressure, however, that led to the
amendment of the legislation. In 1994, the US applied the Pelly Amendment,
administering trade sanctions on Taiwan. It banned imports of wildlife and
wildlife products from Taiwan, with a particular focus on trade in tiger parts
and rhino horns (both used in traditional Chinese medicines).
In response to this strong international pressure, the Legislative Yuan
revised the Wildlife Conservation Law within three months. It instituted large
fines, between NT$100000 and NT$750000 (US$3030–US$22727), and/or
incarceration from six months to five years for the trade or display for
commercial purposes of protected, endangered, or rare and valuable wildlife
products (as well as unauthorized import or export of live protected wildlife or
products made from protected wildlife). There were heavy penalties for false
labeling of merchandise that contained protected wildlife or wildlife products.
Finally, punishments for habitual offenders were even more strictly enforced.
The framework for biodiversity conservation 79