Demolish Miramar Resort Action, Don't Bid Farewell to the East Coast Rally

Event description

"Shan-yuan Bay '' is an approximately 6-hectare bay near the Amis Tsu-tung village in Taitung County. It features a rare sandy coastline in Taitung and holds significance as a traditional territory for indigenous people. In 2004, the Taitung County Government leased Shan-yuan Bay through a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement under the guise of a beach. The De-an Group won the bid, and the development project shifted towards constructing a resort managed by the “Miramar Resort''.

The issues with the Miramar Resort development project include the original accessibility of Shan-yuan Bay to everyone for recreation and use, and being part of the tribal traditional territory. After the consortium won the bid, they enclosed the bay, restricting access for visitors and residents, effectively turning the coastline into private property. Additionally, the Miramar Resort development covered an area of six hectares, but the consortium carved out only 0.99 hectares for the main building, circumventing environmental impact assessment (EIA) regulations. Furthermore, the development violated the Soil and Water Conservation Act, causing damage to the local coastal ecology.

Many indigenous activists spoke out against the enclosures of traditional territories by consortia, and environmental groups accused the Taitung County Government and the consortium of violating the EIA law. In 2012, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled the county government's EIA invalid, but the county government insisted on restarting the EIA, sparking even greater social controversy. In response, social movement groups launched the "Anti Miramar Resort Concert" in 2012, where thousands gathered at Shan-yuan Bay, raising towels with the slogan "Demolish Miramar Resort" to voice their demands. In 2013, they organized the "Don't Bid Farewell to the East Coast" march and concert in Taipei, with activists walking from Taitung to Taipei, culminating in a concert at Ketagalan Boulevard.

The anti-Miramar Resort movement not only marked Taiwan's first successful environmental "citizen lawsuit" but also became a significant movement that effectively combined environmental issues with the cultural rights of indigenous people. The movement engaged not only activists but also the academic and artistic communities, with well-known singers and independent musicians joining the cause. As a result, the anti-Miramar Resort movement became a symbol of contemporary efforts to protect marine environments and safeguard the traditional territories of indigenous communities.

Outcome

The legal proceedings concluded in 2016 when the Supreme Administrative Court made a final judgment, declaring the seventh environmental impact assessment resolution by the Taitung County Government invalid and bringing an end to the case. Following the court ruling, the county government was ordered to compensate the developer with 629 million NTD and repurchase the buildings from the Miramar Resort. In 2020, the Taitung County Government decided to designate Shanyuan Bay as a public beach and allocated some of the land for adoption by indigenous tribes.

In terms of legislative reforms, the Miramar Resort case influenced the 2015 amendment to the Coastal Zone Management Act, which emphasized the protection of first-level coastal areas, prohibiting alterations to their resource conditions and ensuring public access.

Participating Organizations