both Taiwan and China, ENGOS have broadened civil society. In contra-
distinction to the Taiwan case, however, the environmental movement and
ENGOs have had little direct impact on the embryonic democracy movement
in China. They have reached accommodations with the authoritarian state,
engage in what we call ‘self-constrained advocacy’, and exercise caution in
order to avoid challenging the power of the regime.
Chapter 8 investigated the politics of biodiversity conservation through an
examination of the most recent cases of environmental protest in Taiwan and
China. The example from Taiwan concerned protests against the planned
construction of a petrochemical complex and steel mill in the south coast of
Taiwan that would threaten the Qigu lagoon and wetlands and the black-faced
spoonbill, an endangered species of global significance. The example from
China concerned the planned construction of dams on the Nu River, one of
only two rivers in China that has not been dammed. The construction would
endanger rare and threatened species of fish, animals, and plants in what is
called one of the last ‘unspoiled places’ in China.
In both cases, ENGOs played leading roles in protest. Chinese ENGOs
cooperated in opposition to the Nu River dam. They worked with foreign
NGOs, and involved scientists and journalists in the campaign (the most
prominent leader of the campaign, Wang Yongchen was both a journalist and
co-founder of an ENGO). Many ENGOs coordinated strategy and tactics, but
they did not form a firm alliance, and the state provided no opportunity for
them to exercise coalition behavior, such as by sponsoring an educational
exhibition in observance of the international day of action against dams. In
response to this protest, Premier Wen Jiabao temporarily halted construction
planning and called for a systematic environmental review, the first time a
major project in China has been stopped (which may be temporarily in this
case) because of environmental protest. The rationale for dam construction –
providing cheap energy in an impoverished area – may overwhelm
environmental objections, but if so modifications will likely be made to
designs, in order to mitigate effects on species and threatened ecosystems.
Taiwan’s ENGOs are considerably more autonomous than those in China,
and shortly after industrial development plans were announced, groups
quickly formed a chorus of opposition to Binnan, and then a pan-ENGO
coalition. However, environmental organizations had competitive relation-
ships, and they quickly learned that they could not rely solely on support from
the local DPP magistrate or the national party center, even after some
environmental activists were recruited into government posts under the DPP
after 2000. During the 10-year period of controversy, the DPP was in the
process of gradually reversing its stance on policy issues in order to
consolidate power locally and attain it nationally. Winning elections became
the DPP’s first priority; environmental justice and long-standing devotion to
Conclusions 225